14 February
Valentine, Martyr at Rome, c.269
St. Valentine is a martyr from before 312, commemorated on the 14th
of February. Probably he was martyred on that date, but nothing
else is known of him. (A Valentine, priest of Rome, and a Valentine,
bishop of Ternia (Interamna), are both commemorated on 14 February,
and now generally assumed to be the same person.) In many parts of
Europe, it was once said that birds began to pair off for the
nesting season in mid-February. Since our forebears often spoke of a
given day by naming a saint connected with it rather than by giving
the month and the number of the day, we find them saying that birds
choose their mates on St. Valentine's day. That is all. If a major
earthquake took place on Columbus Day, it would probably be known to
future generations as the Columbus Day earthquake, but it would be a
mistake to try to connect it with Columbus.
There are several stories making the rounds that try to explain
the connection between valentines and Valentine. Every one that I
have heard sounds like an explanation made up after the fact,
probably by a Victorian clergyman lecturing to children. There are
other explanations attempting to connect it with various pagan
festivals of the early spring. Again, I am not impressed. That
young men should send romantic messages in the springtime both in 90
BC and in 1990 AD does not require a conspiracy theory to explain
it.