Did you know that St. Valentine was a bishop and martyr of the Church and was put to death for his faith on February 14, 270 A.D.? What on earth has that event to do with red hearts, roses, amorous verses, chocolates, lovers? Well, antiquity has it that birds began to mate on that day. Had they never mated before? If not, why were there any birds left to get together on February 14th? What prompted shy Miss Robin and young Master Robin to get together, make a nest, lay eggs and start a family?

It's all very perplexing.

History does not state how long after the saint's death it was decided that February 14th should be the date for lovers to commit themselves to each other by exchanging gifts and writing tender verses. The encyclopedia says that "on the eve of St. Valentine's day young people of both sexes used to meet and each of them drew a name, by lot, from a number of names of the opposite sex which had been put in a common receptacle. Each gentleman thus got a lady for his valentine and became the Valentine of a lady."

Did the parents of unattractive and difficult children find this a way to rid of their offspring?

The Roman feast of Lupercalia was also celebrated on February 14th, when maidens would write love messages, put them in an urn and invite single men to pick one out. They would then court the girl whose name they had picked.

As for the tradition of giving flowers, St. Valentine, who was a physician, once treated a blind girl by dabbing her eyes with ointment, week after week. Before knowing whether this treatment was going to work, Christians were being rounded up and imprisoned, as they were considered by the Romans to be responsible for unrest in the city. St. Valentine was among those to be incarcerated. His jailer was the blind girl's father. As the soldiers arrived to take Valentine away, he gave the father a piece of papyrus with a few words on it, and asked him to give it to his daughter. This he did, and as he gave the child the small scroll, a crocus fell into her hand. She held the blossom before her face and, for the first time, saw its brilliant colour. Her father read the written words: "From your Valentine".

In England, St. Valentine's day reached its peak of celebration during Queen Victoria's reign. Young people saw it as a way to get around the moral laws laid down by their parents who looked with displeasure and condemnation at any attempt by the young people to get together.

I find it perplexing that this particular saint's day should be allotted to lovers. Maybe those who decreed that February 14th should be celebrated in this way had the winter blahs and needed some excitement in their lives. Maybe the florists and candy-makers and card producers were going through a slump. But, I still don't see the connection between their concerns and a martyred saint.

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