How Did Valentine's Day Originate?
Valentine's Day today is a worldwide phenomenon -- straddling continents, cutting across cultures and transcending traditional beliefs. Quite simply, it has the world in its grip -- love does make the world go round! But, did you know that this celebration of love and romance has its genesis in a rather macabre event? No? Then, read on... Saint Valentine Fanciful legends surround the origin of Valentine's Day, adding to its mystique. But the one that seems to have the most acceptances is that this day was actually the martyrdom day of Saint Valentine. He was a fearless Christian priest who dared to challenge a mighty Roman Emperor, way back in the 3rd century A.D. Saint Valentine was a priest in the empire of Claudius II . The latter had sounded the death knell for young lovers and married couples with a rather peculiar decree. Fearing that loyalty to their families would supersede loyalty towards the empire, and thus leave him with an impoverished army, Claudius ...