With Valentine’s day just around the corner here in Stratford, CT dental implant provider Dr. Jeffrey Hoos, along with the rest of his staff here at the Brush and Floss Center, have been getting a lot of excited patients. It seems that we aren’t the only ones looking forward to giving our valentines their presents this year.
However, all this thought about romance, gift giving, and chocolate got us wondering – just where did all these traditions come from? What do they have to do with the holiday, and who was Valentine? The curiosity was killing us so we hit the books in search of some answers. Unfortunately, there is very little factual information connected to Valentine’s day and its origins. There is, however, a plethora of legend and myth. That being said, in honor of Valentine’s day and its traditions, we have decided to write a post compiling what little truth we could find as well as our favorite legends.
Valentine was a Priest
Surprisingly, there is very little known about the man this holiday was named after. In fact, so little is known about Saint Valentine that the Roman Catholic Church removed him from the General Roman Calendar. However, they still recognize him as a saint. What little factual information about Saint Valentine that does exist goes as follows:
Saint Valentine was a Catholic priest in third century Rome. During this time in history, belief in the Christian God could land you in prison. Saint Valentine was one of the many people swept away by Roman justice for their faith. On February 14th, 273 was imprisoned and tortured in the name of his faith. Then, on July 23rd of that very same year, Saint Valentine was finally put to death. This made him a martyr in the name of the Catholic faith, and because so he was indoctrinated into sainthood. The Catholic church decided then that February 14th would be a day set aside to commemorate Saint Valentine’s sacrifice.
The only factual information left regarding Saint Valentine is that on the same day of his execution he was buried in a cemetery very near to the Milivan Bridge in Northern Rome. The rest is myth.
Our Favorite Legends
The rest of what pertains to Saint Valentine and his involvement with Valentine’s day has no actual historical backing to it, but many of the myths are interesting nonetheless. Here are two of our favorites.
Our first has to do with the time Saint Valentine spent in roman prison. The jailer had a daughter who was blind. It is said that the jailer brought his daughter to Saint Valentine and he performed a miracle on her, curing her of her blindness. Then, on the day Saint Valentine was hauled off to be executed, he left the jailer’s daughter a note and signed it “Your Valentine.” This particular myth might have something to do with why we exchange cards on February and sign them “your Valentine.”
Our other favorite myth has to do with candy, and why it might have become such a staple on February 14th. The dates are not certain, but the origin of this myth is very old and dates back to a time when sugar was used by physicians. It was suggested that a healthy dose of sugar could cure someone of a broken heart. Thus, the tradition of exchanging chocolate on Valentine’s day may have gained steam with time thanks to the doctor’s orders.
Until next time readers, have a happy Valentine’s day and keep smiling.