The Forum

St. Valentine was reportedly a Roman priest in the 3rd century. There is much disagreement about this figure and his life–especially since there have actually been multiple Saint Valentines–but as the legend goes, he was stoned and beheaded on February 14, and that on that day he signed one of his final letters: “From your Valentine”. He became a martyr of early Christianity, and around the Middle Ages, he became associated with courtly love, his feast day becoming a celebration of lovers. Some historians have theorized that the St. Valentine’s Day we celebrate today was created to replace a pagan holiday for fertility called Lupercalia, while others speculate that the holiday’s romantic association is a result of the observation that birds often pair in mid-February.