Valentine’s Day

Originally Saint Valentine’s Day, 14th February commemorates the feast day of at least three early Christian saints all called Valentinus, who were martyred around 197-269 AD, by the Romans. The feast day was proclaimed by Pope Gelasius I in 469 AD. Despite many legends, there is no specific connection between any of the saints and the professing of love between lovers. Other than the obvious love they had for their Christian faith, there is nothing to link these saints to the modern observance of Valentine’s Day, which only began to take form during The Middle Ages. The first recorded association of Valentine’s Day with romantic love appears in Chaucer Parlement of Foules (1382). “For this was Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.” Saint Valentine’s Day is mentioned by Ophelia in Hamlet Act IV, Scene V. “Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s Day, All in the morning betime, And I a maid at your window, to be your Valentine.”