There are a number of martyrdom stories associated with various Saint Valentines connected to February 14, [ 5 ] including an account of the imprisonment of Saint Valentine of Rome for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire in the third century. In 18th-century England, it grew into an occasion for couples to express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards known as "valentines".
Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. In the 19th century, handmade cards gave way to mass-produced greetings. Saint Valentine's Day is not a public holiday in any country, although it is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion [ 14 ] and the Lutheran Church. Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. Romae and Valentine of Terni Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m.
The relics of Saint Valentine were kept in the Church and Catacombs of San Valentino in Rome, which "remained an important pilgrim site throughout the Middle Ages until the relics of Saint Valentine were transferred to the church of Santa Prassede during the pontificate of Nicholas IV [β]". Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna now Terni , in central Italy and is said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian in He is buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location from Valentine of Rome.
Professor Jack B. Oruch of the University of Kansas notes that "abstracts of the acts of the two saints were in nearly every church and monastery of Europe. The Catholic Encyclopedia speaks of a third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about him.
February 14 is celebrated as Saint Valentine's Day in various Christian denominations ; it has, for example, the rank of "commemoration" in the calendar of saints in the Anglican Communion.
