Valentine's Day. It is that special day on the calendar that makes giddy the hearts of some, strikes fear into the hearts of others, —“oh no - I've still got to order flowers for her!”—, and may even be crossed out gleefully by those who don’t care to celebrate it! Symbols of Valentine's day include a heart shape pierced by an arrow, depictions of the cherubic Cupid, chocolate candy, and flowers. Traditional Valentine's colors are red and white. The many customs and symbols of Valentine's day have been collected from around the world, invented to serve the purposes of youth and romantic love.

The patron saint of this day is, of course, St. Valentine. The tradition, although not very well supported by history, is that in 270 A.D., the orders of the Roman Caesar, then Claudius II Gothicus, were that no man should marry. Claudius's supposed reasoning was that marriage distracted soldiers from their purpose. It was said that St. Valentine defied the Emperor, and secretly conducted marriage rites between couples. For this crime, he was supposedly beheaded in the year 270.

It is a certainty that the Roman Empire was experiencing much unrest on its many fronts at this time. The greatness of Rome was in decline, and every man was desperately needed to protect the empire. There is little or no evidence to suggest that the emperor actually forbade men to marry, however, and the actual existence of St. Valentine is a matter of conjecture. It is a fact that Claudius was often away from the capital city during the year of 270, and he died of the plague that same year, near a small village in his home province. So did the emperor also order the beheading of a certain Valentine while being concerned with greater and more worrisome matters? Who can say? It may be that Valentine was involved in helping his fellow Christians escape persecution at this time, and, in doing so, incurred the wrath of the Emperor or of some other powerful person.

It is, perhaps, more likely that St. Valentine — or at least his story, if not his person — was created by the early Roman Catholic Church in its efforts to find a patron saint of love and marriage. The church recognizes three different saints of the same name, all martyrs. It was Pope Gelasius, at some time around the end of the fifth century, who first declared February 14th to be St. Valentine's Day. This celebration was probably put into place to oust a ribald pagan observance called Lupercalia.

Lupercalia celebrated the coming-of-age of young men, as well as being a festival of fertility. One of the most objectionable practices, in the eyes of the church, was the drawing of the names of young girls by unmarried men. The girl whose name was drawn would often become the partner of the young man for one year. How widely this custom was practiced is not known. Nevertheless, it is easy to suppose that the church was eager to replace the licentious holiday with one devoted to a more chaste love.

Folklorists present another theory regarding the mythical Valentine. In the French language, the 'g' sound has often been pronounced as 'v' in different periods of French and Gaulish history. 'Gallant' is a word with French roots 'gallant', and 'galantine', meaning "true lover" —or something to that effect— could be the origin of the name Valentine.

An unsanctioned guest to the list of patrons on the Valentine's Day role is the deity Cupid. Cupid, in the Roman tradition, is the son of Venus, goddess of love and beauty. It seems fitting that her son should be the god of lovers. (Greek mythology better explains this designation - Cupid's counterpart is the god Eros, which is the Greek word for lustful, physical love.)

The story goes that Venus became jealous of a beautiful mortal named Psyche and sent her son to cause the poor girl to fall in love with the ugliest man alive. Instead, Cupid fell in love with her himself - perhaps he botched the job and shot himself in the foot. He carried her away as his wife, against Venus's will, hiding her in a secret place. He bade Psyche to never look on his face, for she was mortal and he was a god. She disobeyed, however, and he left her, and she had to complete many tasks before she could be reunited with him. In tales of a younger Cupid, he is portrayed as a Puck-ish mischief maker, using his bow and magic arrows to cause people to fall in love. Hearts and arrows are very prominent symbols of the day - whether they have any other meanings attached to them, I leave for the reader to decide.

The colors of Valentine's Day are red and white, and also pink, a combination of the former two. Red symbolizes passion, while white symbolizes purity. Pink is perhaps the most appropriate color for young lovers - a meeting point between the two extremes.

The origins of the tradition of giving flowers on Valentine’s Day are also questionable. We do know that this custom first became popular in the 17th century. One of the traditions is that the flowers, along with heart shapes, symbolize the illicit marriages that St. Valentine performed, at the cost of his life. Roses, having the distinction of representing love in all its forms, are the blossoms of choice on Valentine's Day. In medieval Europe, the giving of roses would have been quite a chore at that time of year, so the young man who managed to accomplish such a difficult feat was sure to win the heart of his lady with a single bloom.

The giving of chocolate is a much easier custom upon which to speculate. Chocolate has long been associated with sensuality and indulgence, both of which are deeply entrenched in Valentine's Day celebrations. It was first brought to Europe from the Americas in the 16th century by Spanish explorers. Once chocolate became more widely available, its popularity increased throughout Europe during the 17th century. This is about the same time period that the giving of bouquets on Valentine's Day came into fashion. What better way to charm one's way into a young lady's heart than by a gift of chocolate, flowers, and a trinket or two?

It seems fitting that the day celebrating love is shrouded in such mystery, for is not love itself a mystery of the human heart? Not just for couples in love, Valentine's Day is a time to remember good friends and loving families. Those who have no "significant other" with whom to exchange gifts may celebrate by renewing or strengthening close friendships or family ties. Whatever their origins, whatever the reason for practicing them, the customs of Valentine's Day live on, and will continue to be celebrated by lovers and friends throughout the ages.

Images courtesy www.amybrownart.com and latevictorianart.homestead.com/index.html