It’s Time For Valentine’s!
Valentine’s Day, while a secular holiday for most, originated as a Christian feast day. What is now recognized as a day to express our affections to our loved ones derives from Saint Valentine’s selfless efforts to wed Christian soldiers who were forbidden to marry because of the Roman emperor.
Who Was St. Valentine?
St. Valentine of Terni was a third-century Roman priest who lived under the reign of Emperor Claudius II. Known as the patron saint of lovers, Valentine had been imprisoned for secretly marrying couples. Emperor Claudius II forbade soldiers from marrying because it was thought that marriage would hinder their efficiency on the battlefield. Valentine had a reputation for healing the sick. He is said to have restored the sight of Julia, the blind daughter of his jailer, Asterius. After Julia was miraculously healed by Valentine, Asterius converted to Christianity. As a result, Valentine and Asterius were beheaded by order of Emperor Claudius II. As legend has it, Julia received a love letter signed, “from your Valentine” before Valentine’s execution on February 14, 271 AD. This gave rise to the celebration of Valentine’s Day as we know it.
Why Does This Matter?
Today, Valentine’s Day is often reduced to a performance—measured by reservations secured, gifts exchanged, and photos posted. However, Valentine, the man whose name we celebrate, expressed love not through extravagance but through sacrifice. Valentine’s love required courage and, ultimately, the surrender of his life. His story forces us to confront an uncomfortable truth: love, in its truest form, costs something. It demands vulnerability, commitment, and sometimes loss. Perhaps Valentine’s Day was never meant to be about what we receive, but about what we are willing to give.
With that being said, we should celebrate what true sacrificial love looks like.
St. Valentine’s love was not passive or sentimental—it was an act of resistance against an empire that sought to regulate intimacy. Love, in this sense, becomes a threat to power. Valentine did not die for romance; he died because his love refused to submit to imperial control. Empires depend on obedience and uniformity. Valentine disrupted both by secretly wedding Christian couples. Through his actions, he upheld love over law. By prioritizing human connection over imperial efficiency, his weddings serve as a declaration that human connection isn’t expendable—even in the face of war.
St. Valentine’s actions were not merely religious, but defiant and radically political. Under Emperor Claudius II, love was regulated, marriage was restricted, and loyalty to the state outweighed loyalty to one another. Valentine’s decision to secretly marry Christian couples was a quiet rebellion against an empire that viewed human attachment as a liability. In choosing love over law, he exposed a truth that remains unsettling today: systems of power often fear love because it creates bonds they cannot control.
why Is This Relevant?
At the heart of St. Valentine’s story is a simple truth: love becomes dangerous when it contradicts the priorities of power. This dynamic did not end with the Roman Empire. Across history and into the present, certain forms of love have been treated not as private lifestyles, but as disruptions, because they challenge social norms, outdated laws, or institutional convenience. Whenever love refuses to conform to what is permitted, efficient, or socially acceptable, it inherits the same risk that Valentine faced.
To remember Valentine, then, is not simply to celebrate romance, but to recognize love’s power to resist dehumanization. Love that commits, heals, and endures is rarely convenient. It disrupts systems built on efficiency and control.
So, the next time February comes around, don’t ask your partner to be your Valentine. Instead, ask if they’ll have you as theirs.