KYLE M. JOHNSON
STAFF WRITER

Valentine’s Day, the holiday filled with themes of love and affection, has several possible origins, many of which are darker than the celebrations of the present day may indicate.

The holiday of love is also known as St. Valentine’s Day, due to its ties to the martyred Saint Valentine. However, historical evidence reveals that there are at least three saints named Valentine from whom the holiday may have originated.

According to an article on History.com, one likely inspiration for the holiday was a priest in 3rd century Rome who was sentenced to death for performing marriages for young men, in spite of laws against such ceremonies.

“Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families,” the article states.

Another likely inspiration for the holiday was an imprisoned priest who fell in love with a female visitor who may have been his jailer’s daughter.

“Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed ‘From your Valentine,’ an expression that is still in use today,” the article states. There are many other saints possessing the same name who are believed to have influenced the creation of the holiday through their romantic heroism.

According to the Britannica Online Encyclopedia, Valentine’s Day also has origins from the Roman festival Lupercalia, which was celebrated in mid-February.

“The festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, included fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery,” the article states. However, at the end of the 5th century, the pope replaced the festival with St. Valentine’s Day.

There are also several iconic symbols of the holiday. These include a heart, possessing a stylized shape; birds, due to their springtime mating season; and Cupid, the Roman god of love who would cause his subjects to experience love and passion by shooting them with an arrow.

According to the Britannica Online Encyclopedia, while the imprisoned priest may have written the first “valentine,” formal letters and cards did not appear until much later. “Formal messages, or valentines, appeared in the 1500s, and by the late 1700s, commercially printed card s were being used . The first commercial valentines in the United States were printed in the mid-1800s,” the article states.

Valentine’s Day has spread to presently be celebrated in areas on such continents as North America, Europe and Australia.