Feast of St. Valentine

One of the easiest things to do is to find what is the cause of a specific holiday. Martin Luther King Day celebrates, well, Martin Luther King's birthday. Same with the holidays that celebrate Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays. Labor Day celebrates laborers. Christmas celebrates Jesus' birthday (although it's unlikely that Dec. 25th was the actual day He was born). But Valentine's Day, where did that come from?

Well, I guess, the origin of the day goes back to St. Valentine, a 3rd century priest in Rome. According to Catholic Online, the story goes that Valentine was arrested for marrying Christian couples and helping those who were being persecuted by the Roman Emperor Claudius the Goth. While he was imprisoned, Claudius became friendly with Valentine, that is until Valentine tried to convert the emperor. Yeah, not a good idea. Valentine was beaten and then beheaded. But his death - like the deaths of all the martyrs - helped the faith grow in Rome.

Anyway, one story has it that Valentine returned the sight of a jailer's blind daughter and another story said he sent the daughter a farewell note before his execution that was signed, "From your Valentine."

In the fifth century, the feast of St. Valentine was placed on Feb. 14. In 1969, the feast of St. Valentine was removed from the Church calendar because his historical record is not necessarily clear.

But chances are that the roots of the day stem from a pagan holiday that was celebrated Feb. 15. According to AmericanCatholic.org, the festival, known as Lupercalia, allowed a Roman man to draw the name of a young Roman woman and keep her as his sexual companion for the year. Yeah, once the Church had a hold of Rome this festival was changed to a slightly calmer version in which the names of saints were placed in a pot and the young men were forced to imitate that saint for a year.

Although there is no longer a feast day that honors Valentine, he is still a patron saint of many things, including affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers and young people.

So, as you celebrate this day, either celebrate it with a loved one, or celebrate it commemorating the plague and bee keepers.