Saint Valentine's Day, commonly known as Valentine's
Day, or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is observed on February 14
each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it
remains a working day in most of them.
St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early
Christian saints named Valentinus. The most popular martyrology
associated with Saint Valentine was that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden
to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire;
during his imprisonment, he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer
Asterius. Legend states that before his execution he wrote "from your
Valentine" as a farewell to her. Today, Saint Valentine's Day is an
official feast day
in the Anglican Communion, as well as in the Lutheran Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrates
Saint Valentine's Day, albeit on July 6th and July 30th, the former date
in honor of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and the latter date in honor of
Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni).
The day was first associated with romantic love
in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love
flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other
by presenting flowers, offering confectionery,
and sending greeting cads (known as "valentines").
Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th
century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.
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