St. Valentine's Day is set aside for lovers and for
declarations of love, with these declarations
traditionally sent anonymously. ---- Theories put
forward generally refer the custom back to Roman
times, telling the story of St. Valentine, a Roman
priest who assisted the Christian martyrs during the
persecutions in the time of Claudius II. St. Valentine
was caught and ordered to give up the Christian
faith. He refused to do so and was executed on the
14th February 270 AD. In another telling,
St. Valentine was executed for the cause of love,
after allowing Christian soldiers to marry in spite of
a ban on them imposed by Emperor Claudius
Gothicus.