Why do we celebrate Valentine's Day?

Angella Nantege

The whole world on the occasion of Valentine's Day is usually painted red and is filled with in colour of love.

Many people on this day express their intimacy for their spouses, secret admirers and partners by giving gifts or roses or cards.

Yet not many people know that the origin of this love-filled festival is not so lovely.

The special day of love is celebrated in honour of one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, through later folk traditions, has become a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world.

A priest named Valentine was martyred in 270 CE by emperor Claudius II Gothicus after he found out that Valentine was secretly helping Christian couples get married.

Claudius did not believe in marriages and he thought that single men were better off and dedicated soldiers.

While the true origin of the holiday remains vague, the day originated as a Christian feast day honoring the early Christian martyr named Saint Valentine.

The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the "lovebirds" of early spring.

In 18th-century England, it grew into an occasion in which couples expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards.

In Ancient Greece, people observed a mid-winter celebration for the marriage of the god Zeus and the goddess Hera.

Now you know how Valentine's Day started.