By Maria Ramos—

When red hearts, chocolates and flowers are on all the store’s shelves, it must be Valentine’s Day. Most Americans participate in this holiday, but where did Valentine’s Day come from? While most of our classmates love to celebrate love, showing care and appreciation to those that are special to them, m any do not really know what they are celebrating.

The history of Valentine’s Day dates all the way back to 270 AD, when Roman Emperor Claudius II didn’t want soldiers who were married, during wartime, because he believed single men made better soldiers. A soldier who did not have someone to fight for and live for would fight harder and take more chances with his own life.

A Christian Priest Valentinus, known today as St. Valentine, is widely recognized as the man who disobeyed the Emperor’s edict by performing wedding ceremonies in secret. Valentine was discovered and then jailed and executed. While incarcerated, as the story goes, he wrote a note to the jailor’s daughter signing it, “From your Valentine”. The Emperor had Valentine executed on, you guessed it, February 14.

The celebration of Valentine’s Day as a holiday came about after the fall of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, when courtly love came into vogue. The date has remained a day of love ever since.

Today, Valentine’s Day serves as a reminder to let those emotionally close to us know how much we love them. St. Valentine’s Day was not created by giant greeting card and candy corporations to sell cards and chocolates. While many cards and candies are sold, money can’t buy love. The day is about emotional connections and showing others how much we care about them.