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February 13, 2005
Make a Difference this Valentines Day
Who is this Saint Valentine and what does love have to do with it? The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine, all of whom were martyred. According to one legend, Valentine sent the first "valentine" himself to his love from prison. It was signed "from your Valentine".
Some believe that the Romans has a mid-February custom, that stems from the believe that birds chose their mates on February 14th. Pastors would substitute the names of saints to suppress such practices and February 14th became known as St. Valentines Day, but the custom of celebrating the chosing of a mate, like most old customs, stuck.
St. Valentine was executed in Rome on February 14, about the year 270. The oldest known Valentine, in England, dates from around 1400. According to Catholic.org, St. Valentine is the patron saint of "affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, young people".
Hmmm, the patron saint of greetings??
Posted by photocartoonist at February 13, 2005 11:18 PM