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The Original St. Valentine
You will recall that around Christmastime, we talked about St. Nicholas, and how an actual person was the source of the story of Santa Claus. Well, there was also a person who was St. Valentine.
One of the reasons it is hard to be sure about all the facts concerning St. Valentine, however, is that during the first 300 years of Christianity there were several major persecutions of Christians. Each of these terrible times lasted for years, and Christians lived in fear of being jailed or even killed. Very often, all of their writings were usually destroyed, too.
Most of the stories that have survived say that St. Valentine was a priest or a bishop in Italy. One story tells that during the 3rd century, when Valentine lived, Emperor Claudius II was faced with defending the Roman Empire from the invading armies of Goths. The Emperor believed that men who were not married made better soldiers, so he didn’t allow them to marry. St. Valentine was found out to be secretly marrying young men and women, against the Emperor’s instructions.
You will recall that around Christmastime, we talked about St. Nicholas, and how an actual person was the source of the story of Santa Claus. Well, there was also a person who was St. Valentine.
One of the reasons it is hard to be sure about all the facts concerning St. Valentine, however, is that during the first 300 years of Christianity there were several major persecutions of Christians. Each of these terrible times lasted for years, and Christians lived in fear of being jailed or even killed. Very often, all of their writings were usually destroyed, too.
Most of the stories that have survived say that St. Valentine was a priest or a bishop in Italy. One story tells that during the 3rd century, when Valentine lived, Emperor Claudius II was faced with defending the Roman Empire from the invading armies of Goths. The Emperor believed that men who were not married made better soldiers, so he didn’t allow them to marry. St. Valentine was found out to be secretly marrying young men and women, against the Emperor’s instructions.
Saint Valentine was arrested, and for his crimes, which included refusing to worship idols of Roman gods, he was condemned to death on February 14, 269 A.D. You will recall that “A.D.” stands for Anno Domini, the year of our Lord. Our calendar reflects the Christian heritage of Western Civilization.
While awaiting execution, the story tells that Valentine prayed for the sick daughter of his jailer, who miraculously recovered. He wrote her a note and signed it, "from your Valentine."
More than 200 years later, in 496 AD, Rome had become Christian, and Pope Gelasius designated February 14th as "Saint Valentine's Day."
One of the great works of literature you will read while learning here is from the fourteen century, the 1300s, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, called The Canterbury Tales. This is when it seems the tradition of Valentine’s Day became associated with love, devotion, and courtship. Three hundred years later, when William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, Valentine’s Day is mentioned in this same context.
There is also the tradition of signing Valentine’s cards with X-es and O-s, and you’ve probably been told that this represents a kiss and a hug.
But there is an older origin of this tradition.
The Greek name for Christ, “Christos” (Χριστ?ς), begins with the letter Chi, which is written as an "X." This is why X-mas became the abbreviation for Christmas.
In Medieval times, the "X" was called the Christ's Cross, or as it was later pronounced, "Criss-Cross."
The Christ's Cross was a form of oath, from where "crossing one's heart" was derived.
Just as people would swear upon a Bible, then say "so help me God" and kiss it, people would sign a document next to the Christ's Cross, then kiss it as a promise before God that they would keep the agreement. This practice has come down to us as "sign at the X".
This is the origin of signing a Valentines' card with "X"s and "O"s to express a pledge before God to be faithful, sealed with a kiss of sincerity.
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