In the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius II, things were
not going well for the empire.

Claudius had launched so many bloody wars that he was
running out of soldiers and no one wanted to volunteer
for his latest adventurers.

In a stroke of madness, Claudius decided that the solution
to his problem was to ban all engagements and marriages.

This way, he reasoned, young men would not be ‘tied down’
to their families and would be more inclined to sign up
and ship out.

Obviously, folks who wanted to get married were not
happy with the new law.

*** Valentine to the rescue

One clergyman, a man named VALENTINE,  thought the law
was nuts and unjust and took to secretly marrying couples.

It worked great…until he was caught.

While in jail waiting for execution – it was a capital offense
to oppose the Emperor – young people threw flowers and
notes of appreciation to the man who stood up to a power-mad
government on their behalf.

Valentine knew he had done the right thing and, thanks to
the support and love and received from so many, kept his
spirits high to the very end.

For the ‘crime’ of marrying people who loved each other,
Valentine was executed on February 14.  And thus the
origin of today’s holiday.