01 Feb February
The month of love and friendship
Legend has it that in 3rd century Rome the Emperor Claudius II forbade soldiers to marry on the grounds that their performance on the battlefield dropped when they were united with their beloveds.
A Christian priest, named Valentine, began marrying lovers in secret and his fame soon spread throughout Rome, when his exploits reached the emperor’s ears the priest was imprisoned and condemned to death for contradicting the emperor’s designs.
While he was imprisoned awaiting execution, the young priest fell in love with the jailer’s blind daughter, who miraculously recovered her sight – love can do anything! Valentine was executed on February 14, 270 AD.
In the SV the church in Rome turned this date into a Christian holiday and so February 14th began to be celebrated as the day of love and friendship, because it is also the feast of friendship, although commercial campaigns seem to have forgotten that part.
The custom of lovers giving each other presents for Valentine’s Day seems to date back to 1848 when an American businesswoman published and marketed greeting cards for the date.
