A google of 'St. Valentine' indicates no one knows who he is. The honorary 'saint' indicates he was martyred: in Catholic-ese, that equates to some sort of terrible death -- stoning, immolation, savaged by lions, the historic equivalent of water-boarding.
Best guess is that he was either a martyr in Africa, a Roman priest or a bishop. If it was the priest, he allegedly got arrested for marrying christian couples and aiding others of the same faith. These were big time no-no's under Claudius. Arrested, Valentine became a favorite of the Emporer, until his missionary fervor kicked in. Bad idea to attempt to convert someone like Claudius, who had the poor guy beaten with clubs and stoned. When he didn't die from that, he was beheaded.
Others claim St Valentine's day was implemented to supersede a pagan holiday celebrated about the same time. An alternative theory is that back in the 14th century, Chaucer and his cronies invented the holiday and associated it with romantic love. Some date the holiday to the 18th century, with authors and historians of the time correlated St. Valentine's and love.
I like the last two theories the best. It is just too bizarre that millions will rush out and buy chocolate, roses and lingerie in honor of someone who was clubbed, stoned and beheaded. And what does love have to do with that amount of violence and anger? Or chocolate, roses and lingerie, come to think of it.
The motivation and actions behind St. Valentine's day are comparable to mother's or father's day. Are there truly just a handful of days in the year where you're supposed to celebrate your love and affection? Rather than Hallmark holidays, perhaps we could vote with our feet and make every day one in which we make the people that are nearest and dearest feel special.
Happy VD, all!
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