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Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine's Day falls on February 14. It is the traditional day on which lovers let each other know about their love by sending Valentine's cards, which are often anonymous. The holiday is named after two men named Valentine, both Christian martyrs. The day became associated with romantic love in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

The day is now most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines". Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, the practice of hand writing notes has largely given way to the exchange of mass-produced greeting cards. The Greeting Card Association estimates that, world-wide, approximately one billion valentines are sent each year, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association also estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

In the United States, the marketing of Valentines Day has tagged it as a "Hallmark holiday".

History

February 14 was traditionally dedicated to two ancient martyrs named Valentine. They are listed in early martyrologies under the date of February 14, which suggests that this is date of their deaths. There is a third St. Valentine from Africa who was also martyred on February 14, but he didn't get a saint's day. There is very little information about any these Valentines that can be considered historically accurate. The Valentines honored on February 14 are:

• Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae): a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom about AD 269 and is buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.
• Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae): He became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been killed during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian. He is also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the beautiful Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino).

Some sources say the Valentine linked to romance is Valentine of Rome, others say Valentine of Terni. The Bollandists have concluded that the two were originally the same person.

The name Valentine comes from the Latin word valor, meaning worthy. The Catholic Church formally recognized a total of eleven Valentine's days. Besides February 14, these include January 7, May 2, July 16, August 31, September 2, October 25, November 1 and November 3, November 11 November 13, and December 16. Valentin Faustino Berri Ochoa, whose saint's day is November 1, lived in the nineteenth century. The other Valentines lived in ancient or early medieval times. The Orthodox Church recognizes a somewhat different list of Valentine's days. No connection between St. Valentine and love is mentioned in any early account, and is regarded by secular historians as purely a matter of legend.

The Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints (known as the Roman Martyrology) was revised in 1969 and all of the Valentine's days were officially dropped. The liturgical Feast of St. Valentine is now restricted to the diocese of Rome. For the global Catholic Church, February 14 is the Feast of Ss. Cyril and Methodius.