As of my writing this post, we find ourselves just shy of a week before seagulls nationwide descend upon garbage dumps to gorge themselves on the acrid-sweet taste of discarded Conversation Hearts and waxy gas station chocolates. But between now and when that “magical” time arrives, comes Valentine’s Day.

Like many of the cultural holidays we celebrate in the West, Valentine’s Day originates as the celebration of the life of a Christian Saint. Born in the 3rd century just outside of Rome, Valentine lived just after the height of the Empire, but its fall would still be several lifetimes away.

There are two main events for which Valentine is famous, both of which revolve around him being arrested. To set the stage for the first, Rome was in the middle of a time of cracking down on the spread of Christianity. When a country finds itself on the decline, it is not uncommon for the people to try and find someone or something to blame for their deteriorating state. The scapegoat for this period was Christians, who refused to pray and worship the traditional gods of the Romans, resulting in, as the logic went, those deities withdrawing their favour from the Empire. Valentine, being either a priest or a bishop depending on the source, was rather more visible in the community than most, meaning soon he found himself under house arrest for living out his faith.

It is there where the first major event associated with the saint occurred. For Valentine was at heart an evangelist, unable to keep the gospel message of who Jesus Christ is to himself. As such when a judge was appointed to Valentine’s case, he took the opportunity to share the good news. The judge, however, was somewhat amused by this man who clearly had a death wish and so chose to level on the young Valentine a challenge. “I have a daughter,” he said, “who is blind. Pray to your God to heal her, and if he does then you can go free." And so, that is what Valentine did, and soon we are told that God healed that young woman of her affliction. Upon witnessing this miracle, the judge not only released Valentine but also immediately converted his whole family to the faith. Some sources even say Valentine and the Judge’s family remained close to the end of Valentine’s days.

While this story is amazing in its own right, it is actually the second event for which Valentine would become famous. For after he was freed, some time went by. And the Empire continued to find itself in a worse state. Rome had accumulated great wealth because of the size and sophistication of its army, and that army had begun to shrink. The reason for this shrinkage, it was determined by the top brass, was marriage. While this may sound an odd thing to blame for us today, there was a policy at the time that only single men could be conscripted and so every marriage meant one fewer person in the pool of potential soldiers to draw from. So, sources state, the Emperor set to work limiting under what circumstances a couple could get married in the Roman Empire. These decrees were said to particularly target Christians.

So being either a priest or bishop, that is someone who performed Christian marriages as part of their duties, Valentine was faced with a choice: either stop marrying couples or once again risk arrest. He chose to continue on performing those marriages, being directly responsible for quite a number of young men no longer being eligible to serve in the military. An act of defiant pacifism just as much as one of love.

In time he was found out, arrested and placed in front of a different magistrate. Once again, Valentine chose to take the opportunity to live life on the dangerous site, and set about trying to evangelize the mand before him. Unfortunately, this official was not so kind to this novel defence as the last one and Valentine was martyred by beheading February 14th, 269 AD. We have on this day celebrated the bravery of this man who lived his life for Christ ever since.

The last writing we have from Valentine is said to be a letter he sent to the Judge’s daughter, encouraging her to stay strong in her faith. Legend has it that he signed the letter “Your Valentine”.

And so, as this coming Valentine’s Day arrives, I hope you will remember the one for whom the day is named. A great witness is to be found in his example left for us, for sure. Also (and somewhat more macabre), perhaps a more fitting gift than a chalky heart you are just going to throw away immediately anyhow, would be some kind of candy-skull. I think given the circumstances of what the holiday has historically been about, that would be the more fitting gift.

Happy Valentine’s Day!