February is finally here, which means that Valentine’s Day is approaching. It is the perfect time to celebrate with your significant other, or with anyone you love, and to show others how much they mean to you.
Valentine’s Day dates back to 240 A.D., but it wasn’t always all about love and happiness. In fact, the history of Valentine’s Day was cruel. It all started when a Roman ruler by the name of Claudius the Cruel was in power. He wanted to obtain a powerful army and grew worried that his soldiers were growing soft because they were wanting to marry. He ultimately decided to make a law that prohibited marriage for the soldiers to solve this problem.
However, Saint Valentine, a local priest, allowed these soldiers to get married in secret in his church because he believed in love. The secret marriages continued for some time, but when the word spread that Saint Valentine was doing something illegal, Claudius arrested him and eventually sentenced him to death. When Valentine was held in prison, he fell in love with the jailer’s blind daughter who always brought him food and company. One night, folklore has it that Valentine touched her eyelids and she was magically able to see.
On February 14, the day of his execution, he sent her a love letter and signed it with “your valentine.” Ever since, lovers across the world have been sending each other letters, and in modern times have sent flowers and chocolate to celebrate their love.