However, the story of why we celebrate this day is a bit of a mystery.

The traditions of St. Valentine’s Day mix elements of both ancient Roman rites and Christian tradition. To confuse matters, three different saints named Valentine are recognised by the Catholic Church. Valentine may not be the luckiest of names, as all three of the saints are martyrs.

One legend tells us that Valentine was a priest in Rome during the third century. Emperor Claudius II decreed that marriage was to be outlawed for young men, as he thought that single men made better soldiers than those who were married with families.

Valentine felt the decree was unjust and unfair and he defied the Emperor by performing secret marriages for young lovers. When his actions for undercover lovers were discovered, Claudius ordered Valentine to be executed. Variations on this legend say that Valentine was put to death for trying to help fellow Christians escape from harsh Roman prisons where they were often tortured. 

According to another legend, Valentine may have actually sent the first ‘valentine’ greeting himself in 270 AD the day before he was to be executed for refusing to renounce his Christian beliefs. Allegedly he sent a note of appreciation to his jailer’s blind daughter for bringing him food and delivering messages while he was imprisoned, signed “from your Valentine.”

While we can never be certain as to the true origin of the St. Valentine legend, one thing is for certain, it must have been an appealing and enduring story because by the Middle Ages, Valentine had become one of the most popular saints in France and Britain.