Last Updated on August 17, 2011
Ever wondered exactly why we send Valentines to our special someone each year?
It’s all because of an emperor and a defiant priest.
Sometime around the year 270, Claudius II banned marriages, having decided that single men made better soldiers than their married counterparts. A priest named Valentine balked at the restriction, and began performing illegal marriages.
Imprisoned for his crimes, he met a charming young woman, and miraculously healed her blindness. (You knew there had to be a miracle in there somewhere, or else he’d have never been known as “Saint Valentine.”)
After receiving sight, she eventually decided to move on, prompting the priest to send her a farewell message that ended, “From your Valentine.”
The phrase stuck.
For better or worse.
Ever wonder how February 14th came to be the day designed for all of this? Read the rest of the story here.
