Reviving a post from a couple years ago:
So as you may have gathered from my posts about Thanksgiving and Christmas, I like going back and examining the roots of holidays. This week many of you will either take your significant other out for a fancy dinner, or bring them expensive flowers, candy, or jewelry. Or, conversely, you may be the one expecting your significant other to step up their game a bit and provide you some (or all) of the items listed above.
But let's step back a moment, shall we? Who is this Valentine that this day was named for?
Back in the early days of Christianity (and I'm not going to take the time to look up the date, ok? Pre AD 300) when practicing and preaching Christianity was still illegal in the Roman empire,* there was a man named Valentinus. He had been arrested and imprisioned for practising and preaching Christianity.
*Just as you'd get looked at askance today for spouting the teachings of someone who had been executed for basically rabble rousing.
One of Valentinus's jailors was a man who had a blind daughter named Julia. This man wanted his daughter to be educated, but in those days few women were educated at all, let alone one who was blind. So, knowing that Valentinus was a well-educated man and that he really was not in a position to refuse, the jailor asked Valentinus to tutor Julia.
Julia's father began bringing her to the prison, where Valentinus taught her history and literature. He eventually began to teach her about Jesus's life and works, as well. Julia was obviously very interested in the stories of Jesus's healing miracles. She bemoaned to Valentinus that with Jesus dead, there was no hope of her eyesight being restored. Valentinus told her that if she believed deeply enough and prayed hard enough that there might still be a chance of a miracle. So Julia and Valentinus began to pray together and her blindness was ultimately cured.
At some point after this - whether it was a case of the last straw for a man who had already been put in prison for doing exactly this sort of thing, or because it just took this long for the wheels of bureaucracy to turn - a date was set for Valentinus's execution. It was to be February 14th.
The night before he was to die, Valentinus sent Julia a letter telling her not to weep for him, but rather to stay strong in her faith and continue her studies. He signed it "from your Valentinus" (which is why we still write "from your Valentine" on Valentine's Day cards).
So St. Valentine's Day started as a day to commemorate a courageous teacher who was executed. It's like Dead Poets' Society if the teacher had died rather been fired at the end. Where the candy hearts and flowers came in, I don't know.
I guess my point is this - if you have someone you care about, even (and maybe especially) if it's not a romantic relationship, do something nice for them this week, but it doesn't have to be about gourmet chocolate, out-of-season flowers, or expensive gifts. A sincere letter telling someone that you care more about how they are doing than about whatever hardships you may be dealing is worth a lot more than any of that.