Saint Valentine’s Day is a day shrouded in romance and mystery. According to allaboutissues.org, the holiday most likely came from the story of Bishop Valentine, who was serving in Rome during the reign of Emperor Claudius II, about 270 A.D.
When the Emperor decided that young, unmarried men would make better soldiers, marriage was outlawed. However, Bishop Valentine had sympathy for the young men and performed marriages in secret. When Valentine was discovered, he was sentenced to be executed. One legend maintains that Valentine fell in love with his jailer’s daughter and sent her a card signed “From your Valentine” before he was executed.
Saint Valentine’s Day became an official holiday when Pope Gelasius I changed a pagan festival into a Christian holiday and declared Saint Valentine’s Day to be on February 14, according to infoplease.com.
The giving of gifts and cards became popular in England in the 18th century. Valentine’s cards did not become popular in the United States until the 1850’s when Esther A. Howland started mass-producing them.
According to history.com, Saint Valentine’s Day is celebrated in France, Mexico, Canada, Australia, The United Nations, as well as the United States.
GCS is offering a way for students to show some love with the thirteenth annual Valentine’s Fundraiser for the eighth grade. There are many things you can send to someone, including: a poem, a song, candy, silk flowers, or a heart necklace. Mrs. Sheperd, the music teacher, said that much preparation has gone into this fundraiser. The eighth graders will make the cards, learn the songs, and dress up in Valentine’s themed outfits. The money made from the fundraiser will benefit a ministry project chosen by the eighth graders.
In addition to this GCS tradition, many students have traditions of their own. Some students, like junior Marissa Duff, exchange gifts with their parents on Valentine’s.
“I think that Valentine’s is a very special day to show people how much they mean to you. It doesn’t just have to be romantic, it could be showing love to your parents or friends,” said Duff.
While some students feel that Valentine’s Day is very romantic, others, like junior Emma Waters, feel that it is over-commercialized.
“I think it’s a nice idea, but it’s been taken to excessive levels,” said Waters.
Students like Joseph Hubbard, junior, do not pay much attention to Saint Valentine’s Day. To him, it’s just another day of the year.
Although some do not celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day now, many students, like junior Joseph Argo, have good memories of exchanging Valentine’s cards with their elementary classmates.
“In Mrs. Bailey’s third grade class, someone gave me a box of chalky hearts [Conversation heart candy] that didn’t have anything written on them,” said Argo.
Much history and legend surrounds Saint Valentine’s Day, but whether the story is true or not, the effects of its retelling throughout the centuries are certainly felt in our lives and in our school.