Do you know why
we celebrate Valentine’s Day? Now it is mainly so that we can tell
people that we care about them, give and receive cards, and enjoy chocolates and
candies. But according to
one legend, St. Valentine’s Day is meant for people to
remember a brave
man, a martyr whose name was Valentine.
The Story of St.
Valentine
The Roman
Emperor Claudius II was fighting many wars. He wanted a strong army, but
many men did not want to be soldiers. Claudius thought the men wanted
to stay home to be with their wives and children instead of leaving to fight
wars.
Claudius thought
of an awful solution to his problem. He decided to cancel all marriages! No one
in all of Rome could get married. Claudius thought that if the men couldn’t get
married, the men would ignore the women and want to be soldiers.
Valentine, who
was a priest, believed that people needed to get married. He thought that if
they were not married, they would be tempted to sin by living together without
being married. So he secretly and illegally married couples anyway! He
performed the weddings in secret places, so the Roman soldiers would not find
out. But they did find out. Valentine was arrested and brought before the Emperor.
The Emperor thought Valentine was a well spoken and wise young man, and
encouraged him to stop being a Christian and become a loyal Roman. Valentine
would not deny his beliefs, and he refused. He was sent to prison until he
could be executed. While he was in prison, he sent out letters to his friends
and asked to be prayed for by writing Remember your Valentine.
Valentine was
killed on the 14th or the 24th of February in the year 269 or
270. We
celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th in honor of St. Valentine.
Although it is
not known whether this legend is factually true, it is a good story anyway. It
is nice to think of someone who believed in marriage and was willing to risk
death to do what he believed was right.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Paula Teixeira
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário