Valentine’s Day began in the 3rd century in Rome when a priest named Valentine changed letter writing for the rest of history. While Valentine was serving in the Roman war, Emperor Claudius II decided if all men were single they would focus more on the war and their task at hand without any distractions. He so believed in this theory that the Emperor outlawed marriage for men yet unattached.
St. Valentine believed so strongly in the love between two people that he began performing marriages in secret for his fellow army men. Men would come to him desperate to marry the love of their lives before going off into battle and St. Valentine took pity on each one of them. Eventually, information about these secret marriages got back to the Emperor. He became so angry he had St. Valentine put to death. The outcry from St. Valentine’s death was so great that the entire month men were writing love letters to the women back home and arranging marriages for the moment they returned. The Emperor knew he couldn’t enforce this law because of so much public outcry so he reinstated legal marriage. St. Valentine is honored each year to this day for his belief in love and the concept of marriage.
This Valentine’s Day remember to honor your true love with a symbol of Ireland instead of a red heart.