A SHORT HISTORY OF VALENTINE'S DAY With other popular Stories of VALENTIME'S DAY ;



                       A  Short  History  Of  Valentine’s  Day  With   Other   Popular  Stories :
Story of St. Valentine
( sources-from different articles calected from  internet )
       "The story of Valentine's Day begins in the third century with an oppressive Roman emperor and a humble Christian Martyr.   The emperor was Claudius II.   The Christian was Valentinus.
Claudius had ordered all Romans to worship twelve gods, and had made it a crime punishable by death to associate with Christians.   But Valentinus was dedicated to the ideals of Christ; not even the threat of death could keep him from practicing his beliefs.   He was arrested and imprisoned.
During the last weeks of Valentinus's life a remarkable thing happened.   Seeing that he was a man of learning, the jailer asked whether his daughter, Julia, might be brought to Valentinus for lessons.   She had been blind since birth.   Julia was a pretty young girl with a quick mind.   Valentinus read stories of Rome's history to her.   He described the world of nature to her.   He taught her arithmetic and told her about God.  She saw the world through his eyes, trusted his wisdom, and found comfort in his quiet strength.
"Valentinus, does God really hear our prayers?" Julia asked one day.
"Yes, my child, He hears each one."
"Do you know what I pray for every morning and every night?  I pray that I might see.   I want so much to see everything you've told me about!"
"God does what is best for us if we will only believe in Him," Valentinus said.
"Oh, Valentinus, I do believe! I do!"  She knelt and grasped his hand.
They sat quietly together, each praying.   Suddenly there was a brilliant light in the prison cell.   Radiant, Julia screamed, "Valentinus, I can see!  I can see!"
"Praise be to God!"  Valentinus exclaimed, and he knelt in prayer.

On the eve of his death Valentinus wrote a last note to Julia, urging her to stay close to God.   He signed it, "From your Valentine."  His sentence was carried out the next day, February 14, 270 A.D., near a gate that was later named Porta Valentini in his memory.   He was buried at what is now the Church of Praxedes in Rome.   It is said that Julia planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near his grave.   Today, the almond tree remains a symbol of abiding love and friendship.   On each February 14, Saint Valentine's Day, messages of affection, love, and devotion are exchanged around the world."
                






          বিশ্ব  ভালবাসা  দিবস  বা  ভ্যালেইনটাইন  ডে  কে  অনেকে  Feast  Of  Saint  Valentine’s  ডে  ও  বলেন  ৷ প্রত্যেক  বছর  ফেব্রুয়ারী  মাসের  ১৪  তারিখে  বিশ্ব  জোড়ে  বর্তমানে  এই  দিবসটি  পালনের  একটি  প্রথা  চালু  হয়ে  গেছে  ৷  তবে  এই  দিনটকে  এখনও  সরকারী  কোনো  হলিডে  হিসেবে  গণ্য  করা  হন  নি  ৷  তবে  এই  দিবসটি  ঘিরে  সারা  বিশ্বের  অনেক  মানুষ  উপহার  কার্ড , ক্যান্ডি  ফুল  সহ  অন্যান্য  জিনিষের  উপহার সামগ্রী  বিনিময়  করেন ৷

        আবার   বিশ্বের  অনেক  খ্রীস্টানরা  এই  দিনটিকে  Chiristian  Martyr ডে  হিসেবেও  পালন  করেন   এবং  এইদিনটকে  রামানরা  তাদের জাতীয়  রোমান  হলিডের    Rupercalia এর উৎস  মনে  করে  থাকেন ৷ তাই  এই  দিবসটি  খ্রীস্টান  ও  রোমান  উভয়  সম্প্রদায়ের  ঐতিহ্যের  সঙ্গেও  জড়িত  ৷

          প্রাচীন  ইতিহাস  থেকে  জানা  যায়  যে , ক্যাথলিক  চার্চ  মোটামোটি  এখন  পর্যন্ত  তিনজন  ব্যক্তিকে  Valentine’s  নামে  স্বীকৃত  দেয়  ৷  এই  তিন  জনের  একজন  ছিলেন  তৃতীয়  শতাব্দীর  এক  কিংবদান্তি পুরুষ  ভ্যালেনটিন  নামক রোমের এক ধর্ম  যাজক  ৷

         রোমের  ২য়  সম্রাট  ক্লাডিয়াস হঠাৎ  করে  একসময়  তার  শাসনাধীন  রাজ্যে  বিবাহিত  পুরুষকে  সৈন্যবাহিতিতে যোগদান করা নিষিদ্ধ  ঘোষণা  করে   বসেন ৷ তাঁর  নাকি  মনে  হয়েছিল  বিবাহিত  সৈন্যের  চেয়ে  অবিবাহিত  সৈনিকরা  যুদ্ধক্ষেত্রে  অধিক  ভূমিকা  পালন  করতে  সক্ষম  হবে  ৷  তখন ভ্যালেনটাইন  নামক এক ব্যক্তি  রাজার  এই  অবিচারের  প্রতিবাধে সৈনিকদের  মধ্যের     তরুন  প্রেমিক প্রেমিকাকে  গোপনে  বিয়ের  ব্যবস্থা করতে  আরম্ভ  করেন  ৷ কিত্তু  একপর্যায়ে  রাজা  এই  বিষয়টি  অবগত  হয়ে  যান  ৷ রাজা  তখন  তার  প্রচলিত  নিয়ম  বঙ্গ  করার  অপরাধে  ভ্যালেনটাইনকে  মূত্যুদণ্ড  প্রদান  করেন  ৷  এই  মৃত্যূদণ্ডটি  ফেব্রুয়ারী  মাসের  ১৪  তারিখে  কার্যকর করা হয়েছিল ৷  তাই  নকি  ১৪ ফেব্রুয়ারী  তাঁর  সরণার্থে   এই  দিবসটিকে  ভ্যালেনটাইন  দিবস  নামে  পালন  করা  হয়  ৷

        এই  দিবস  পালনকরা  নিয়ে  আরো  একটি  গল্পের  প্রচলন  হয়েছে  ৷ সে  গল্পথেকে  জানা  যায় যে , এক  খ্রীস্টান  যুবকের  নাম  ছিল  ভ্যালেনটাইন  ৷ তিনি  কোনো  এক  সময়ে  এক  জেল-সুপারর  মেয়ের  প্রেমে  পড়ে  যান  ৷ জেল-সুপার  এই  ঘটনাকে  জেনে  ফেলেন  এবং  ভ্যালেইনটাইনকে  তার  কারাগারে  বন্দী  করেন  এবং  জেলের  প্রহরীর   দ্বারা  তাকে  প্রচন্ড  প্রহারের  ব্যবস্থা  করেন  ৷  অনেক  অত্যাচার  সহ্য  করেও  ঐ  ব্যক্তি  তার  মৃত্যুর  পূর্বে  তার  প্রেমিকার  কাছে  একটি  চিঠি  লিখতে  সমর্থ  হয়েছিলেন  ৷ এই  চিঠিটিকে  বর্তমান  ভ্যালেনটাইন  দিবসে  ভালবাসার  একটি  মূল্যবান  নিদর্শন  হিসেবে  ব্যবহার  করার  লক্ষ্যে  তাদের  ভালবাসার  মানেষের  কাছে  উপহার  কার্ড , ক্যান্ডি  ও  অন্যান্য  উপহার  সামগ্রীসহ  শুভেচ্ছা  বিনিময়  করেন  ৷  কারণ  অত্যাচারী  সম্রাট  ফেব্রুয়ারী  মাসের  ১৪  তারিখে  এই  ভ্যালেনটাইন  নামক  ব্যক্তির মূত্যু  দন্ড  দিয়েছিলেন  ৷

     ১৪  ফেব্রুয়ারী  উপলক্ষে  রুমে  একটি  পৌরাণিক  কাহিনীর  প্রচলন  আছে ৷ রোমিউলাস  নামক  এক  ব্যক্তি  একবার  নেকড়ে  বাঘের  দুধ  পান  করতেন  ৷  নকড়ের  দুধপানে  তিনি  হঠাৎ  অসীম  শক্তিশালী  ও  জ্ঞানের  অধিকারী  হয়ে  যান  এবং  তার  ঐ  প্রাপ্ত  জ্ঞান  ও  শক্তি  ব্যবহার  করে  রোমান  রাজ্যের  প্রতিষ্ঠা  করতে  সক্ষম  হন  ৷ যদিও  ইহা  একটি  নেহাত  পৌরাণিক  কাহিনী  ৷ এর  পরও  রোমানরা  প্রত্যেক  বছরের  ১৪  ফেব্রুয়ারী  একটি  উৎসব  পালন  করে  থাকে  ৷  এই  উপলক্ষে  ১৪ ফেব্রুয়ারী  রোমানরা  একটি  কুকুর  ও  একটি  পাঠা  বলি  দেয়  ৷  এরপর  দু’জন  শক্তিশালী  যুবকের  গায়ে  প্রথমে  ঐ  বলি  দেয়া  কুকুর  ও  পাঠার  রক্ত  মাখানো  হয় ৷  এরপরে ঐ দু’ই  যুবকের  গায়ে  মাখানো  রক্ত  দুধ  দিয়ে  ধোয়ে  ফেলে  দেয়া  হয়  ৷  এর  পরে  দুধে  ধোয়া  ঐ  যুবক  দু’জনের  নেতৃত্বে  সমস্ত  শহর  জোড়ে  একটি  প্রদক্ষিণের  ব্যবস্থা  করা  হয়  ৷ আর  প্রদক্ষিণরত  যুবকদের  সামনে  যে  সব  মহিলাদের  পাওয়া  যাবে  সে  মহিলাকে  যুবকদ্বয়  তাদের  হাতে  থাকা  চামড়ার  রশি  দিয়ে  আঘাত   করেন  ৷  তখন  রোমান  নারীরা  ঐ  আঘাত  অত্যান্ত  আনন্দের  সঙ্গে  গ্রহণ  করেন  ৷
তাদের  বিশ্বাস  এতে  করে    ভবিষ্যত  বন্ধ্যাত্ব থেকে  রক্ষা  পাওয়া  যাবে আর  বন্ধ্যা  মহিলারা  তাদের  শারিরিক  অনুর্ববতা  থেকেও  মুক্তি  পাবে  ৷  এই  উৎসব  পালনে  অংশগ্রহণকারী  বিবাহযোগ্য  নারীরা    কিছু  টুকরো  কাগজে তাদের  কিছু  নাম  লেখে  মাঠে  ছড়িয়া  দিত  ৷  পরে যুবকগুলো  কাগজের  টুকরোগুলো  কুড়িয়ে  নিয়ে  যে  ব্যক্তি  তার  কুড়িয়ে  পাওয়া  কাগজের  খন্ডে  যে  মহিলার  নাম  লিখা  পেত  তার  সঙ্গে  একবছর  অবাধে  মেলা  মেশার  সূযোগ  পেত  ৷  এবং  পরের  বছর  একই  দিনে  অর্থৎ  পরের  ফেব্রয়ারীর  ১৪  তারিখে  উভয়ে  একে  অন্যের  সঙ্গে  বিবাহে  আবদ্ধ  হতে  পারত  ৷ তখনকার  যুবক  ও  যুবতীরা  একই  নিয়মে  তাদের   জীবনসঙ্গী  খুজে  নিতে  পারতো  ৷

         পরে  যখন  রুম  খ্রীস্টানরা    দখল  করে  নেয়   এবং  অনেক  রোমান  খ্রীস্টান  ধর্ম  গ্রহণ  করতে  বাধ্য  হতে  হয়  ৷  তখন  থেকে  নৈতিকতার  এবং  অশ্লিলতার  অজুহাতে  এই  প্রথা  বন্ধ  করে  দেয়া  হয় নৈতিকতার  ধোয়া  তুলে  ৷

        অন্য  আরএক  ঘটনা  থেকে  পাওয়া  একটি  সূত্রে  থেকে  জানা  যায়  যে , ৩য়  শতাব্দীতে  রোমানরা  খ্রীস্টানদের  অধিকারে  আসার  পর  সেখানকার  ২য়  সম্রাট  ক্ল্যাডিয়াস  তার  সৈন্যদের  বিবাহর  উপর  নিষেধাজ্ঞা  জারি  করেন  হঠাৎ  করে  ৷  তাঁর  ধারনা  জন্মে  এতে  করে  সৈন্যরা  যুদ্ধক্ষেত্রে  আরো  বলিষ্ট  ভূমিকা  পালনে  সক্ষম  হবে  ৷ তখন  ভ্যালেইনটাইন নামক  এক  ধর্ম  যাজক  এই  আদেশের  বিরোধিতা  আরম্ভ  করেন  এবং  গোপনে  সৈনিকদের  ইচ্ছা  অনুযায়ী  আগ্রহীদের  বিবাহের  ব্যবস্থা  আরম্ভ  করেন  ৷  এক  সময়ে  এই  সংবাদটি  সম্রাটের  কাছে  চলে  যায় ৷  ফলে  সম্রাট  ভ্যালেনটাইনকে রাষ্ট্রের  আইন  অমান্য   করায়  তাকে দোষী সাব্যস্থ  করেন  এবং   জেলে  প্রেরণ  করেন  ৷  বন্দীঅবস্থায়  তিনি  জেলে  অবস্থানের  সময়ে  জেল  রক্ষীর  এক  মেয়ের  প্রমে  পড়ে  যান  ৷  কিত্তু  তখনকার  প্রচলিত  নিয়ম  অনুসারে  কোনো  খ্রীস্টান ধর্মযাজক  তাদের  খ্রীস্টান  ধর্মমতে  কোনো  মেয়েকে  বিয়ে  করতে  নিষেধ  ছিল ৷  তাই  যাজকরা  ইচ্ছা  হলে  বা  কারো  প্রেমে  পড়লে  তাকে  বিয়ে  করতে  পারতেন  না  ৷ তবে  এ  ক্ষেত্রে  সম্রাট  একটি  শর্তে  ভ্যালেনটাইনকে  মুক্ত  দিতে  সম্মত  হন  ৷ তার উপর  আরোপিত  শর্তটি  ছিল  ঐ  খীস্টান  যাজক  তার  নিজ  ধর্মত্যাগ  করতে  হবে  এবংতাকে  পত্তোলিক বা  অগ্নী উপাসকের ধর্ম  গ্রহণ  করতে  হবে ৷ তিনি  যদি  তাই  করেন  তবে  তার  প্রেমিককে  বিয়ে  করতে  আর  কোনো  আপত্তি  থাকবে  না  ৷ কিত্তু  খ্রীস্টান    যাজক  সম্রাটের  এই  অন্যায়  আদেশ  এবং  ঐ  প্রস্তাব  অগ্রাহ্য  করেন এবং  তার  ধর্মে  অটুট  থাকেন  ৷  এতে  সম্রাট  মনোক্ষুন্ন  হন  এবং  সম্রাটের  আদেশ  পালন  না  করার  জন্যে ভ্যালেইনটাইনকে  ১৪  ফেব্রুয়ারী  মৃত্যুদণ্ডে  দণ্ডিত  করেন  ৷

        এই  হচ্ছে  ভ্যালেনটাইন  দিবসের  মূল  ইতিহাস  আজকাল  বাংলাদেশের  তরুন  ও  যুবকেরাও  এই  উৎসব  পালন  করা  আরম্ভ  করেছেন ৷  তারা  একে  অন্যকে  উপহার  সামগ্রী  ছাড়াও  কার্ড  ও  লাল গোলাপ ফুল  বিনিময়  করছেন  কেউ  কেউ   লাল  পোষাক ও  পরিধান  করে  একজন  অন্যজনের  সঙ্গে  সাক্ষাত  করছেন  ৷  একদিন  হয়ত  বাংলাদেশের  অন্যান্য  সামাজিক  উৎসবের  মধ্য  ভ্যালেনটাইন  দিবসও  অন্তর্ভূক্ত  হয়ে  পড়বে ৷  নিশ্চয়  ভাল  কিছু  হলে  গ্রহণ  করতে  বাঙালীরা  কোনো  আপত্তি  করবে  না  ৷  


     More information about valientine  day ;-

VALENTINE’S DAY


Each year on February 14th, many people exchange cards, candy, gifts or flowers with their special “valentine.” The day of romance we call Valentine’s Day is named for a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century, but has origins in the Roman holiday Lupercalia.
           On February 14 around the year 278 A.D., Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed.
           Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.
           To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.
             When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270.
            Legend also has it that while in jail, St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine."
           For his great service, Valentine was named a saint after his death.
           In truth, the exact origins and identity of St. Valentine are unclear. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February." One was a priest in Rome, the second one was a bishop of Interamna (now Terni, Italy) and the third St. Valentine was a martyr in the Roman province of Africa.

         Legends vary on how the martyr's name became connected with romance. The date of his death may have become mingled with the Feast of Lupercalia, a pagan festival of love. On these occasions, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia,

and

 

THE LEGEND OF ST. VALENTINE

The history of Valentine’s Day–and the story of its patron saint–is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

   The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl–possibly his jailor’s daughter–who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and–most importantly–romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.

ORIGINS OF VALENTINE’S DAY: A PAGAN FESTIVAL IN FEBRUARY

While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial–which probably occurred around A.D. 270–others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city’s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.

VALENTINE’S DAY: A DAY OF ROMANCE

Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity and but was outlawed—as it was deemed “un-Christian”–at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.
Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine’s didn’t begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at theBattle of Agincourt. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.) Several years later, it is believed that KingHenry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine o The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl–possibly his jailor’s daughter–who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and–most importantly–romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.

    The origin of this holiday for the expression of love really isn't romantic at all -- at least not in the traditional sense. Father Frank O'Gara of Whitefriars Street Church in Dublin, Ireland, tells the real story of the man behind the holiday -- St. Valentine.
"He was a Roman Priest at a time when there was an emperor called Claudias who persecuted the church at that particular time," Father O'Gara explains. " He also had an edict that prohibited the marriage of young people. This was based on the hypothesis that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers because married soldiers might be afraid of what might happen to them or their wives or families if they died."
"I think we must bear in mind that it was a very permissive society in which Valentine lived," says Father O'Gara. "Polygamy would have been much more popular than just one woman and one man living together. And yet some of them seemed to be attracted to Christian faith. But obviously the church thought that marriage was very sacred between one man and one woman for their life and that it was to be encouraged. And so it immediately presented the problem to the Christian church of what to do about this."
"The idea of encouraging them to marry within the Christian church was what Valentine was about. And he secretly married them because of the edict."
Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against command of Emperor Claudius the second. There are legends surrounding Valentine's actions while in prison.
"One of the men who was to judge him in line with the Roman law at the time was a man called Asterius, whose daughter was blind. He was supposed to have prayed with and healed the young girl with such astonishing effect that Asterius himself became Christian as a result."
In the year 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to a three part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally decapitation all because of his stand for Christian marriage. The story goes that the last words he wrote were in a note to Asterius' daughter. He inspired today's romantic missives by signing it, "from your Valentine."
"What Valentine means to me as a priest," explains Father O'Gara, "is that there comes a time where you have to lay your life upon the line for what you believe. And with the power of the Holy Spirit we can do that -- even to the point of death."
Valentine's martyrdom has not gone unnoticed by the general public. In fact, Whitefriars Street Church is one of three churches that claim to house the remains of Valentine. Today, many people make the pilgrimage to the church to honor the courage and memory of this Christian saint.
"Valentine has come to be known as the patron saint of lovers. Before you enter into a Christian marriage you want some sense of God in your life -- some great need of God in your life. And we know, particularly in the modern world, many people are meeting God through his Son, Jesus Christ."
"If Valentine were here today, he would say to married couples that there comes a time where you're going to have to suffer. It's not going to be easy to maintain your commitment and your vows in marriage. Don't be surprised if the 'gushing' love that you have for someone changes to something less "gushing" but maybe much more mature. And the question is, is that young person ready for that?"
"So on the day of the marriage they have to take that into context," Father O'Gara says. "Love -- human love and sexuality is wonderful, and blessed by God -- but also the shadow of the cross. That's what Valentine means to me."


                  The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
                Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl–possibly his jailor’s daughter–who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and–most importantly–romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.

  
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