February 10, 2023 – Theme Week Day 5

On the final day of our Valentine’s Day theme week, we’re talking about the holiday’s namesake, Saint Valentine! Saint Valentine was 3rd century Roman saint, who is also the patron saint of epilepsy and beekeepers. The saint who inspired the holiday may very well have been two different people. One story of Saint Valentine says that he was a priest who performed secret weddings for Christians, which was against the law at the time. He was martyred on February 14. Some accounts also say there was another Saint Valentine, from the Italian town of Terni, who was also credited with secret weddings. Saint Valentine wasn’t always associated with love. Most of the current legends surrounding the holiday were invented in the 14th century. Most notably, poet Geoffrey Chaucer is credited with first associating the saint with celebrations of romantic love. Learn more here.