The Story of Saint Valentine, ilazed, italian language, italian culture

“The Story of Saint Valentine” translated with AI

Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14th and is universally considered the day of love. But why is that? What happened centuries ago, and who was Valentine? Read the following lines of my article ‘La storia di San Valentino’ to learn more about this day and its history! :)

Just like every year, Valentine’s Day is approaching once again, and while in the past I’ve talked about Valentine’s Day vocabulary, this time I’ve decided to focus on the Saint himself—the one who gives his name to the celebration of love.

As often happens with characters and events from the distant past, history blends with legend. Nevertheless, I will still try to provide you with all the information we have about Saint Valentine and February 14th.

Saint Valentine and the Choice of the Date

The day of lovers, as you well know, falls on February 14th, and the choice of this date is attributed to Pope Gelasius I.

In 496 AD, he decided to put an end to the wild festivities of the Lupercalia, the pagan fertility rites that took place on February 15th. In their place, a celebration more fitting to Christian morals and Christian love was established.

Furthermore, the Church managed to identify a bishop who had died as a martyr about 200 years earlier, precisely the day before the start of the Lupercalia celebrations, on February 14th.

Saint Valentine and Love

Why was Saint Valentine chosen as the patron saint of lovers?

Well, as mentioned earlier, history and myth intertwine in the story of this saint as well, and there are still various legends and myths that connect Saint Valentine to love. Let’s take a look at what they are:

1. The Rose of Reconciliation

It is said that Bishop Valentine overheard two lovers arguing and gave them a rose, the Rose of Reconciliation. This simple gesture is said to have caused the young couple to stop fighting and allowed them to continue their relationship in peace and love.

2. The Hindered Love

Another legend about Saint Valentine tells of the hindered love between the Roman Sabinus and the Christian Serapia. Although the two lovers came from completely different worlds and marriages between Romans and Christians were forbidden, the bishop still wished to marry them, especially because Serapia was seriously ill and would soon pass away.

It is also said that the celebration of this marriage was the cause of the Saint’s martyrdom.

3. The Garden of Saint Valentine

This last legend tells of the garden of Bishop Valentine, where many children played every day. However, one day the saint was imprisoned, and the children could no longer enter to play.

Two pigeons, noticing the situation, flew to the bishop’s prison, where he gave them a key to open the garden gate and a note to deliver to the children, on which was written:

To all the children I love, from your Valentine.

Conclusion

Saint Valentine is universally known as the saint of love, and February 14th is the day dedicated to lovers. Unfortunately, we don’t have more detailed information about this bishop of Terni, but the stories and legends that have reached us help create and spread the myth of the one who, with his actions and words, heals divisions and spreads love among men and women all over the world!