The Truth Behind Valentines Day

Ah yes, Valentine’s Day. The day of cheap chocolate and obnoxious couples has finally come ‘round another year. But really, the actual story of St. Valentine is MUCH more interesting than corporate brands make it.

Fun fact: Saint Valentine is the patron saint of not only courtly love, but of epilepsy, beekeepers, love, the mentally ill, and plagues! Mainly epilepsy though, for some reason. He is also one of the most inconsistently identified saints, and there are many guesses as to who he really was and many differentiating stories of him.

In one of the most popular stories from biblical lore, it states that he was arrested for marrying Christian couples — he was a priest — and condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stones, and when that failed to kill him, he was beheaded. He also apparently restored the sight and hearing of his jailer’s daughter right before being executed. Honestly, pretty epic of him.