Every year across the world gifts are exchanged between loved ones in the name of Saint Valentine on February 14th, but who exactly is Saint Valentine and where did the traditions Valentine’s Day embody come from?

The history of Valentine’s Day and the story of its patron saint remains a mystery. Saint Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. With there being three saints by this name, exactly which saint was intended to be honoured remains uncertain. 

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. Emperor Claudius II prohibited the marriage for young men claiming that bachelors made better soldiers than those with wives and families. Valentine, realising the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages in secret, but was eventually apprehended by the Romans and put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured.

However, according to another legend, an imprisoned Valentine fell in love with his jailor’s daughter who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” an expression still in use today.

Although, the actual Valentine's Day tradition started as a Roman festival called 'Lupercalia', which happened in the middle of February, the official start of their springtime. It is thought that as part of the celebrations, boys drew names of girls from a box. During the festival they would be boyfriend and girlfriend, and as a result some even got married afterwards. It was later that the church wanted to turn this festival into a Christian celebration and decided to use it to remember St Valentine as well. 

Despite the origin of Valentine’s Day being ambiguous, it is ultimately a time for expressing affection towards a loved one and celebrating that love. 

Thamara Kumar, Nonsuch High School for Girls