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By Jonathan Cullen
It’s that time of year again, February 14, a red-letter day for lovers.
Chocolates will be eaten, dates will have been arranged and maybe – just maybe, if they have the courage – someone will open up their feelings to someone on St. Valentine’s Day.
But just who is St. Valentine, the patron saint of love?
St. Valentine was born in 225 AD in Rome. During his life, a few legends grew about him. One legend goes that in the Middle Ages, birds used to romance in Rome around mid-February. It was that association that helped to characterise Valentine’s Day.
A more elaborate legend stems from how as a priest, Valentine went against the orders of the emperor of Rome to oversee weddings for couples in secret so husbands could not be conscripted into the Roman army. This came at a time when soldiers were scarce and thus greatly inconvenienced the emperor.
St. Valentine died in Rome (aged between 42-43 in 270 AD), with his remains initially interred in Madrid, Spain.
However, some of his remains were brought to Dublin, including his heart. As a result, on Valentine’s Day, those who seek true love come to the Shrine of St. Valentine at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin to pray there in the hope of finding love. Those who visit also write prayers and requests in the hope of seeking their forever partner.
The first record of there being a Valentine’s Day, or somethingakin to it, came from a poem in 1375 from the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote:
“For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day
Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate”
The commercial aspect of Valentine’s Day as we know it didn’t really take off until the 18th century in the United States, though it took longer for it to fully take off here. It was then that it developed into the Hallmark-style, chocolates and candy day with our partners that it has become.
And if you don’t find your love by or before February 14, there is always next year or other opportunities: The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates Valentine’s Day at a different time of yea, on July 6. So never give up.
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