By Hana Nakayama
Everyone thinks that Valentine’s is a day for love and gifts, but in reality it is not. The history of this day comes from pre-Christian origins. In ancient Rome, February 13th, 14th and 15th were celebrated as Lupercalia, a pagan fertility festival. There were several people named St. Valentine who were executed on February 14 during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius, according to FoxNews.com. Belgian monks spent three centuries collecting evidence for the lives for the saints from manuscript. One of the Valentines died in Africa with 24 soldiers. They didn’t have much on the first one but they had a lot more on the other two. In medieval legend Valentinus, a Roman priest, was arrested by the Roman Emperor Claudius. He was arrested because he preached about Christ leading pagans out of the shadows. Asterius was the one who let him preach, so he made a bargain with Valentinus: If he could cure Asterius’s foster daughter of blindness, he would convert. Valentinus then put his hand over the girls eyes and chanted, “Lord Jesus Christ, enlighten your handmaid, because you are God, the True Light.” Claudius heard about this and ordered them all to be executed. But Valentius was the only one executed by being beheaded. There is still more about Valentine’s Day. Look on Snopes.com to find out more. There are ton more legends about this day.
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