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Claudius II had prohibited marriage foryoung men, claiming that bachelorsmade better soldiers. Valentinecontinued to secretly perform marriageceremonies but was eventuallyapprehended by the Romans and put todeath. Another legend has it thatValentine, imprisoned by Claudius, fellin love with the daughter of his jailer.Before he was executed, he allegedlysent her a letter signed “from yourValentine.” Probably the most plausiblestory surrounding St. Valentine is onenot focused on Eros (passionate love)but on agape (Christian love): he wasmartyred for refusing to renounce hisreligion.In 1969, the Catholic Church revised itsliturgical calendar, removing the feastdays of saints whose historical originswere questionable. St. Valentine wasone of the casualties.Chaucer’s Love BirdsIt was not until the 14th century thatthis Christian feast day becamedefinitively associated with love.According to UCLA medieval scholarHenry Ansgar Kelly, author of Chaucerand the Cult of Saint Valentine, it wasChaucer who first linked St. Valentine’sDay with romance.In 1381, Chaucer composed a poem inhonor of the engagement betweenEngland’s Richard II and Anne ofBohemia. As was the poetic tradition,Chaucer associated the occasion with afeast day. In “The Parliament of Fowls,”the royal engagement, the matingseason of birds, and St. Valentine’s Dayare linked:“For this was on St. Valentine’s Day,When every fowl cometh there tochoose his mate”.Tradition of Valentine’s CardsOver the centuries, the holiday evolved,and by the Eighteenth century, giftgivingand exchanging hand-made cardson Valentine’s Day had become commonin England. Hand-made valentine cardsmade of lace, ribbons, and featuringcupids and hearts eventually spread tothe American colonies. The tradition ofValentine’s cards did not becomewidespread in the United States,however, until the 1850s, when EstherA. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduateand native of Worcester, Mass., beganmass-producing them. Today, of course,the holiday has become a boomingcommercial success. According to theGreeting Card Association, 25% of allcards sent each year are valentines.Read more: Valentine’s Day History —Infoplease.comhttp://www.infoplease.com/spot/valentinesdayhistory.html#ixzz1kczn7Fik29