Valentine Day comes up every February 14 around the world.
Valentine’s Day has been named after Saint Valentine, a priest who was believed to have secretly helped Christian couples get married.
This was a move against the Roman Emperor Claudius II because the emperor did not allow men to get married.
Emperor Claudius II was of the view that single men were better and more dedicated soldiers.
Saint Valentine did not agree with this ideology and facilitated the weddings of couples in love, due to this, he was beheaded by the Emperor.
Before the beheading was done, while imprisoned, Valentine’s used to care for his fellow prisoners and also his jailor’s blind daughter.
Legend has it that Valentine cured the girl’s blindness and that his final act before being executed was to write her a love message signed “from your Valentine”.
He was then executed on February 14 in the year 270 AD.
It wasn’t until more than two hundred years later, that February 14 was proclaimed as Saint Valentine’s Day
By this time Rome had become Christian and the Catholic Church was determined to stamp out any remaining paganism.
Speaking on the significance of the day, an Anglican Priest Venerable Chris Okafor said Valentine’s Day is observed as a day for expressing love between family members and friends, rather than that of romantic couples.
Venerable Okafor said some traditions include leaving lollies and gifts for children and others include acts of appreciation between friends.
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