Valentine’s Day is a time when people get together and celebrate love. They give flowers, candy, and cards; they give kisses and hugs. Valentine’s Day has been celebrated for years beyond recall, but what started this lovable holiday?
Long ago, the Roman Empire held a celebration every year called the Lupercian Festival. The Lupercian festival was held for the God of Fertility. In this celebration, men would pick out a mate and marry her. Marriage was very common in the Roman Empire, but when Claudius became Emperor, he outlawed the rite.
Claudius was afraid that men would refuse their duty to fight in battle, choosing instead to stay home with their wives. Even though Claudius outlawed marriage, couples still fell in love and wanted to marry.
A Catholic Bishop named Valentine understood the feelings of love and started secretly marrying couples. Claudius found out about Valentine’s secret marriages and sent him to jail until his execution.
While Valentine was in jail, he met the jailer’s daughter and quickly fell in love with her. Of course, since Valentine had been issued a death sentence, he was not going to be able to see his love for very long.
On the day that Valentine was beheaded, he wrote his love one last note. It was signed, “From your Valentine.”
Every Valentine’s Day, we celebrate this holiday by expressing love towards one another. Valentine died for love, and he showed Romans and all who remember his name that love is worth dying for.
Valentine’s Day may not be the most important holiday in the entire world, but it is the most loved.
The Tiger Times 
Posted on February 11, 2011 by thetigertimes
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