When you ask someone to be your

Valentine, what exactly does it mean?

From my book Activities for Homes and Schools notes Ever since St. Valentine died on February 14, 269 AD, people have been giving their loved ones Valentines and roses and other things to show their feelings toward them. They do that because of what Valentine did. There is a belief that when Valentine died, he left a not e to his jail keeper s daughter which was signed, Your Valentine. People have been s ending similar messages to their loved ones since then. WHO WAS SAINT VALENTINE? St. Valentine was a great Christian who worked as a priest and a noble man. When St. Valentine was alive, the Roman Emperor, Claudius II, would arrest the Chris tians. If the Christians didn t change their religion, they would either be crucif ied, thrown to the lions, or beheaded. One legend says that St. Valentine would visit the jail every day to talk and to pray with the prisoners to help them to get out safely. After a period of time, the jail keepers got suspicious and aske d him a few questions. That is when they found out that St. Valentine was a Chri stian so they threw him in prison where he stayed without changing his religion. Finally he was beheaded on February 14, 269 A.D. After St Valentine s death, a ch urch was named after him, which was a hiding place under his grave for Christian s, and a public city gate, Porta Valetini (now called Porta del Popolo), was als o named after him. When you ask someone to be your Valentine, what exactly does it mean? One would think that such a popular occasion as Valentine s Day would have a clear history of the word that defines it. Since Valentine is a name, the question is not what it means, but to whom does it refer, and what did Mr. Valentine do to deserve for you to ask your beloved to his namesake? As this blog has learned in exploring the meaning behind everyday words, an amaz ing amount of the context behind names has evaporated over centuries like mornin g dew. For example, why is Tuesday named after an almost-forgotten one-handed go d named Tiw? Here s the amusing answer. But back to today. Here s what we know about what it means when you make someone your Valentine. Valentinus was a relatively common name in the late Roman Empire, meaning strengt h. Words with the same root include valor and valiant. Historical and Christian recor ds point to not one but several martyrs named Valentine. The earliest reference is to a saint buried on February 14 outside of Via Flaminia, in Italy. Nothing i s known about this saint besides his name. Ancient Rome was a difficult place to be a Christian. Under the rule of Claudius II, Valentinus the Presbyter was thrown in jail for officiating at Christian we ddings. Presbyter is synonymous with priest and elder, a person in leadership in the underground Christian community. While he was in jail, Valentinus impressed Emp eror Claudius, who kept him in his company. This arrangement worked until the em peror condemned Valentinus to death for trying to convert him to Christianity, a t which time he became a martyr for the early church. Choosing a sweetheart on this day dates to 14th Century English and French court circles. This fashion is credited to Geoffrey Chaucer, celebrated author of The Canterbury Tales and more: For this was on seynt Volantynys day Whan euery bryd cometh there to chese his make. [Chaucer, "Parlement of Foules," c.1381] So what are the implications of these saints for Will you be my Valentine? That yo

u are willing to risk all for love? We don t have a definitive answer, and would love to know what you think. Share your thoughts with us, below.