Saint Valentine is the patron saint of young couples, a significant part of whose life is not reliably known, which will forever remain a mystery to us.

When I was looking for information about Valentine's Day in the bourgeois Internet space, it turned out that there are a huge number of completely different versions of the origin of this holiday. Here, very briefly, I have prepared a translation from foreign sources of the three most popular legends.

At the end of the article there are photographs with the relics of the Saint from different churches.

Legend 1

According to the Roman narrative, in the third century there lived a man named Valentine who was imprisoned for his Christian beliefs and was sentenced to death. He helped persecuted Christians escape from Roman prisons.

Every day people came to him and threw notes and flowers into the prison window.
It is believed that these notes became the first Valentines.

Legend 2

Another interesting version goes back to the 2nd millennium BC. BC, at a time when the Romans revered Juno, the pagan goddess of love and marriage.

Girls and boys wrote their name on a piece of paper, placing notes in a clay jug according to their gender. Then, the young people with their eyes closed took out the note. And the name that was written on the paper was the future betrothed. However, in order to eradicate the veneration of the pagan holiday, this event was subsequently replaced in Rome by St. Valentine's Day.

Most popular version

The legend tells of a Catholic priest, Valentine, who lived in Rome in the third century. It is not known for certain whether he was an ordinary priest or a bishop. Different sources provide us with different versions of his rank.

The whole story boils down to the fact that the then-current Roman Emperor Claudius II forbade young men to marry, because believed that a family warrior is a bad and weak warrior. Valentin did not agree with this decree and secretly continued to marry young couples. For which he was imprisoned and sentenced to death.

According to legend, in prison, Valentine healed the guard's daughter, a blind girl named Julia.
And there is a lot of controversy here.

According to one version, Valentin and the guard's daughter fall in love with each other. According to another version, nothing like this happened. However, the continuation of the story is that on the night before the execution of the death sentence, Valentine wrote a note to this girl: “From your Valentine,” which means: “From your Valentine.”

The priest was executed on February 14, 269 and was recognized by the Catholic Church as a Christian martyr.

It is not known where exactly the relics of the saint are located.
But there are several places on the map where you can visit the holy remains.
The most famous of them are in Italy and Ireland.

Basilica of San Valentino, Rome.

Ireland

Every year in the days leading up to Valentine's Day, crowds of visitors flock to the Whitefriar Street Temple in Dublin to visit the shrine.

The church has an altar above which stands a statue of St. Valentine. Under the altar there is a shrine containing the remains of the martyr. Once a year, on the very day of February 14th, a shrine is placed in front of the main altar of the church for special sermons and the blessing of the rings of those who are getting married.

Church of St. George, Monselice, Venice.

The Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome houses the skull of St. Valentine.
Of course, it is not known for certain whether these remains belong to St. Valentine.
However, people also come here on Valentine's Day to honor the memory of the saint.


Another Valentine's Day has passed. Millions of people around the world gave each other flowers, jewelry, and sweets.

Everyone knows this tradition, but not everyone knows the history of this holiday.

Valentine's Day history of the holiday

There is no exact information about the origin of this holiday, but there are several legends that originate in the 3rd century.

Legend No. 1

There is a legend that at that time the Roman Emperor Claudius II assumed that single men would perform better on the battlefield and issued an order that prohibited men and women from entering into a marriage union. But there was a doctor, a priest, and Valentin in the Roman army. He could not come to terms with this state of affairs and secretly, at night, sanctified marriages between loving boys and girls. However, the emperor learned about his subject’s disobedience and ordered him to be thrown into prison and executed.

In prison, Valentin fell in love with the warden's daughter, Julia. Before his execution, he left the girl a letter in which he confessed his love to her. I signed the letter “Your Valentine.”

Legend No. 2

Another legend. It is also associated with the Roman Empire. As you know, in those days Rome was pagan. People who converted to Christianity were persecuted and executed. The Roman Valentin, who had a high social status in society, was a Christian. For the reason stated above, he had to keep his religion secret. Valentine tried to convert his servants to Christianity. One day, during the wedding of two servants in love, he was captured by guards. Having a high status, Valentin could have avoided punishment, but he could not abandon his co-religionist servants, who were captured along with him. He wrote them letters in the form of red hearts, as a symbol of Christian love, after which he persuaded the jailers to release the servants in exchange for his own life.

Legend No. 3

There is another version. Rome, according to legend, was founded by two brothers, Romulus and Remus, who were nursed by a she-wolf. The place where the she-wolf nursed the brothers is considered holy by the Romans. Every year at this place on February 15, the Lupercalia holiday was held. During the holiday, animals were sacrificed, from whose skins they were made into whips, which were then used to whip women. It was believed that a blow from such a whip would promote an easy birth. After that, the girls wrote their names on notes and threw them into the trash can. Next, the man pulled out a note. With the girl whose name appeared there, we were a couple for the entire next year (until the next holiday). This was all done to increase the birth rate, since serious problems arose with this then.

Even in Christian times, this holiday was very popular, which, naturally, the church did not like. As a result, in 494 Lupercalia was replaced by the feast of St. Valentine, who, according to legend, was executed on the eve of Lupercalia - February 14.

In modern times, special cards with declarations of love are a mandatory attribute of the holiday. These cards are called valentines and are often made in the shape of a heart.

Every year, Valentine's Day is gaining more and more popularity in our country and is already becoming an absolutely familiar date in a series of the most beloved holidays. Moreover, exactly February 14, on Valentine's Day, not only people who love each other, but even close relatives and friends confess their love. According to tradition, on this day it is customary to give each other valentines. These can be ordinary cards with images of little cupids, flowers, hearts and other cute attributes.

The Legend of Valentine's Day


According to the main legend of Valentine's Day holiday– Valentine appeared back in 269 AD, when the Roman Emperor Claudius II was preparing to once again conquer and conquer the whole world. But there was one big flaw in his ambitious idea - the tyrant’s army was too small. Claudius decided to fight this problem in the bud and believed that the reason for the failures of his army was the family life of the soldiers, and that is why he issued a law prohibiting soldiers from marrying during their entire service. Family, wife and other burdens are too distracting from important, state affairs, Claudius believed, and therefore the planes come first, and the girls come later. Moreover, Claudius II himself, according to contemporaries, loved girls, often and a lot. Such a hypocrite.


However, all the soldiers came to terms with the new law and began to diligently engage in service, but there was one rebel among them who did not agree with the vile law. As you might guess, this troublemaker’s name was Valentin. The young priest even then believed that it was better to make love rather than war and, contrary to the emperor’s decree, he married lovers en masse. As soon as Claudius learned about such a daring act, he immediately ordered the execution of the culprit.

Continuation of the history of Valentine's Day

While awaiting his fate, Valentin did not waste time and, on the eve of his execution, fell in love with the jailer’s daughter. I must say that the girl was very beautiful, but blind from birth. A practicing alchemist managed to cure the beauty of her illness and years later she was able to see the world, and at the same time the good Valentine, who managed to cope with the disease. On the eve of the execution, he decided to send his beloved a message, where he confessed his feelings and signed simply - “Your Valentine.” This message became the world's very first Valentine's card.


The execution of the priest took place on February 14, 269. For disobeying the emperor's decree, Valentin's head was cut off. Many years later, the Catholic Church elevated him to the ranks of saints and in 469, on the eve of the bicentenary of the execution of Valentine, Pope Gilasius decreed that from now on, every year on the day of the priest's execution, all lovers of the world receive their own holiday - St. Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day Traditions

Tradition to celebrate Valentine's Day Its roots go back to the 12th century and has been celebrated in Western European countries for 800 years. With the first settlers, the holiday migrated to North America, where the saint has been revered since the end of the 18th century. In our country, the popularity of St. Valentine came with independence and the collapse of the USSR.


On the eve of Valentine's Day, thousands of lovers are racking their brains about how to surprise their soulmate and what surprise to prepare. Of course, it’s nice to receive a colorful Valentine’s card with a touching confession written on it, or to give a decorative heart with cupids, but, as they say, you want something more substantial.
For example, practical Americans came up with give sweet gifts to your loved ones on Valentine's Day. At the beginning of the 19th century, on Valentine's Day, men always gave their ladies a variety of marzipan sweets, as well as caramels made in the shape of this very heart.


Special colors were also chosen for the candies - red and white, symbolizing red, bright passion and white purity of feelings. The sweets were marked with the names of a loved one and recognitions. Progress did not stand still and instead of one “heart” candy, it became customary to give entire sweet sets, usually the candies were placed in a special heart-shaped box.

Valentine's Day in different countries:

How is Valentine's Day celebrated in England?

If we look at the traditions of celebrating Valentine's Day in different countries of the world, it is interesting that in England men chose your own Valentine. They wrote the girls' names on pieces of paper, then mixed them in a hat, and then pulled them at random. Something like a sports draw, only instead of a future opponent for competition, men drew a partner - and a girl, for example, with the name Rebecca, overnight became Valentina for this particular man.

Valentine's Day in Italy

Italians, like Americans, have turned Valentine's Day into a sweet holiday and give each other cakes, pastries and candies.

February 14 in France

The French prefer something more spectacular and give various jewelry. By the way, it was the French who came up with the idea of ​​giving each other beautiful messages in the form of poetry. Apparently the point here is not so much in the consistency of the quatrains, but in the very language in which it is performed. As you know, French is recognized throughout the world as the language of love.

Finnish Valentine's Day

Hot Finnish guys decided to turn Valentine's Day into International Women's Day, or rather, into a small branch of it. On this day, only women in Finland receive gifts.

Japan February 14th

And in Japan, as always, everything was turned upside down on this day It is customary to congratulate men, and the most popular gift for Valentine's Day is some kind of men's accessory.

Valentine's Day in Poland

Our neighbors, the Poles, were the luckiest of all on this day. It is in their country, or more precisely, on the territory of the Poznan metropolis, that the holy relics of Valentine are located. There is also a miraculous image of the saint, to which thousands of pilgrims annually turn for help and blessing. And as a rule Saint Valentine refuses no one, continuing to work miracles hundreds of years after his departure to another world.

*Photo opens in large size.


We bring to your attention a story for children and schoolchildren about the history of an unusual holiday: Valentine's Day is a holiday for all lovers.

Let's talk about the traditions of this holiday and how Valentine's Day is celebrated in different countries.

Valentine's Day- the most romantic holiday! All over the world it is celebrated as a day of love: boys and girls, men and women exchange valentines - greeting cards in the shape of hearts. This tradition appeared a long time ago, back in the 7th century. But how exactly did she appear?

There are many legends. Valentine, according to the Catholic Church, really healed a blind girl - the daughter of the dignitary Asterius. Asterius believed in Christ and was baptized. Claudius then ordered the execution of Valentine. That is, Valentine suffered for his faith, and therefore was canonized.

Another legend is more romantic. In 269, the Roman Emperor Claudius II forbade his legionaries to marry so that their family would not distract them from military affairs.

But there was the only Christian preacher in all of Rome, Valentin, who sympathized with the lovers and tried to help them. He reconciled quarreling lovers, composed letters for them with declarations of love, gave flowers to young spouses and secretly married legionnaires - contrary to the law of the emperor.

Claudius II, having learned about this, ordered the priest to be seized and thrown into prison. But even there, Valentin continued to do good deeds. He fell in love with his executioner's blind daughter and healed her.

And it happened like this: before the execution, the young priest wrote a farewell note to the girl with a declaration of love, signed: “From Valentine.” Having received this news, the jailer's daughter began to see the light. Valentine was executed on February 14, 269. Since then, people have celebrated this day as a holiday for lovers.

Two hundred years later, Valentine was proclaimed a Saint, the patron saint of all lovers. The global holiday of declarations of love is now celebrated everywhere. And in memory of the letter written by Valentine to his beloved, on February 14, lovers give each other greeting cards - valentines.

According to tradition, they are not signed, and they try to change the handwriting: it is believed that the person must guess who sent him the Valentine card. In addition to valentines, on this day men give flowers to their loved ones, most often red roses.

According to foreign folk tales, it is on this day that all birds choose a mate. There is also a belief that the first man a girl meets on February 14 should become her “Valentine,” even if she doesn’t like him too much.

Gradually, Valentine's Day turned from a Catholic holiday into a secular one. He is loved by men and women, boys and girls. This holiday is celebrated with pleasure, although it is not listed on the calendar among the official holidays.

In Russia, Valentine's Day began to be celebrated relatively recently - somewhere at the end of the last century. Moreover, on this day everyone congratulates not only their loved ones, but also their friends. Well, why not? After all, this is a great reason to wish your friends love and happiness! By the way, in Finland this day is really celebrated not only as Valentine's Day, but also as Friends' Day!

How different countries celebrate Valentine's Day

In almost all countries, it is customary to give gifts and valentines to loved ones on Valentine's Day. They also like to hold weddings and get married on this day.

But it should be noted that Valentine's Day is not popular everywhere. For example, in Saudi Arabia this holiday is generally prohibited. The country even has a special commission that strictly ensures that no one celebrates Valentine's Day.

America

At the beginning of the 19th century, Americans began the custom of giving marzipan figurines to their loved ones on Valentine's Day. And marzipan in those days was considered a great luxury! And on this day it is also customary for American children to give gifts to sick and lonely people.

England

In England, they used to carve wooden “love spoons” and give them to their loved ones. They were decorated with hearts, keys and keyholes, which symbolized that the path to the heart was open.

There is a very beautiful legend about how Aphrodite stepped on a bush of white roses and stained the roses with her blood. This is how red roses appeared. It is believed that the founder of the tradition of giving red roses to lovers was Louis XVI, who presented such a bouquet to Marie Antoinette.

There is also a belief in England - the first man you see on this day is your betrothed. Therefore, unmarried girls get up early on this day and run to the window to look out for their betrothed.

France

On Valentine's Day, the French hold various romantic competitions. For example, the competition for the longest serenade - a love song - is very popular. And it was in France that the epistle-quatrain was first written. And of course, it is customary to give jewelry on this day.

Japan

This holiday has been celebrated in Japan since the 30s. last century. It is interesting that in Japan, Valentine's Day is considered an exclusively men's holiday, so gifts for this holiday are given mainly to men, as a rule, chocolate (mainly in the form of a figurine of St. Valentine), as well as all kinds of colognes, razors, etc. And if a woman gave a man such a chocolate bar, then exactly a month later, on March 14, he gives her a return gift - white chocolate.

The Japanese also hold a competition for the loudest and brightest love message. Boys and girls climb onto the platform and shout from there about their love.

Valentine's Day, the patron saint of lovers, is celebrated on February 14th. On this day, it is customary to congratulate couples in love or simply representatives of the opposite sex. Also February 14th is the name day of Valentinov and Valentin.

The holiday is celebrated differently in different countries. In the USA and Germany, colleagues receive congratulations, and residents of Foggy Albion honor not only people, but also pets: cats, dogs, parrots and guinea pigs. The Japanese give each other chocolate, and the French give each other jewelry.

On Valentine's Day, it is customary to pay increased attention to the object of your love, give each other valentines (heart-shaped greeting cards), bake dough hearts, make dates and arrange romantic evenings.

Like other holidays, Valentine's Day has its own history, the hero of which is the ancient Roman priest and doctor Valentine. Since the events took place many centuries ago, today it is difficult to determine what is fiction and what is true in the surviving legends. One thing is certain: the legend of St. Valentine tells of an extraordinary ordinary man who knows how to love his neighbor, as it is written in the Bible.

Martyr

Valentin was one of the clergy of Ancient Rome who professed the Christian faith. The emperor himself worshiped pagans and Zeus. Christians in those days were persecuted and tortured.

One day the guards grabbed Valentine and brought him to the emperor. The ruler tried to convince the holy father, to force the believer in Christ to change his beliefs. But Saint Valentine, whose legend has survived to this day, was adamant - he prayed to God and invited the emperor to repent.

The tyrant remained deaf to the priest's requests, and the dignitary Asterius invited Valentin to undergo a test. Asterius had a blind daughter, and he asked to restore the girl’s sight. Thanks to fervent prayers, the baby regained her sight, and the official’s family, believing in a miracle, converted to Christianity.

Having learned what had happened, the emperor ordered all Christians to be imprisoned, and Valentine himself to be beaten with sticks and executed. The priest bravely accepted all the trials and died under the hand of the executioner. This is the legend of Valentine's Day, but it is not the only one.

Priest

Another legend about St. Valentine tells how a clergyman went against the will of the emperor. At that time, Claudius II ruled the Roman Empire. The tyrant had few conquered lands; he sought to expand the borders of his possessions. But the legionnaire soldiers did not want to fight, because they saw no point in fighting.

Claudius II decided that the soldiers refused to take up arms, since many of them had families and children. Then a law was passed in the empire prohibiting marriage. Of course, the people of Rome were against this law.

Valentin also opposed the unreasonable decree. He secretly married lovers, for which he was arrested and thrown into prison. There the priest fell in love with the jailer's daughter, but since he was tied up, he could not give vent to his feelings. Awaiting execution, Valentin wrote a letter to his beloved and enclosed a crocus flower in the message. According to one version of the legend, blindness, but also faith helped her to see. The day after sending the letter - February 14 - Valentin was executed.

Healer

Saint Valentine was not only a priest, but also a doctor. During treatment, he tried not to cause suffering to his patients. Pain was relieved with herbs, wounds were washed with wine, and bitter medicines were diluted with milk and honey.

One day there was a knock on Valentin's door. The jailer stood on the threshold. His daughter was blind from birth, and the guard asked the doctor to heal her. The priest understood that it was impossible to restore vision, but still prescribed herbs and ointments. Valentin was later arrested for his religious beliefs and sentenced to death. On the eve of his death, Valentin wrote a love letter to the girl, after reading which she saw the light of day.

This legend about St. Valentine is very similar to previous legends, but there is nothing surprising about it. In those years, a clergyman could be a doctor, a scientist, a psychologist, a teacher, and even an unofficial judge.

Children's friend

Another legend tells that the ancient Roman youth Valentin was very fond of the little citizens of the empire and enjoyed spending time with them. The young man was a Christian, so he did not worship pagan gods. For this he was imprisoned.

The children really missed their older friend, they came to the window of the cell in which Valentin was, and brought him letters with declarations of love. Unfortunately, the young man could not play with his little friends, since he was imprisoned and sentenced to death. The legend of St. Valentine - the friend of children - is less known than other legends.

Canonization of Valentine

Valentine's canonization occurred before the division of the Christian Church into Orthodox and Catholic, in 494 AD. e. on the initiative of Gelasius. The saint was supposed to be venerated on the day of the pagan fertility holiday (February 14), when young men and women behaved more freely than in everyday life. Today in the pantheon of the church there are three saints bearing this name: martyr Valentin Dorostolsky, holy martyrs Valentin Interamsky and Valentin of Rome.

The clergy do not welcome the idea of ​​​​connecting the image of a saint with the holiday of lovers, because love must be given every day. Saint Valentine, whose legend is told differently each time, is revered as a martyr who suffered for the faith.

The Orthodox Church celebrates Valentine's Day on August 12th. On this day, as well as on other days, believers have the opportunity to venerate the relics of the saint in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. And the legend of Valentine's Day remains in the hearts of all people as a memory of the great martyr.