The History of Christian Saint (?) Valentine: In the olden days Rome had culture of Idol-worship. In those days the period between February 13 to 15 used to be celebrated as ‘ Reproduction Festival’ by name ‘Lupercalia’. However to destroy their culture of idol worship and their christianisation , Pope Galasis (First) connected Valentine with 14 th February and started the practice of celebrating ‘Valentine Day’. There was no connection between ‘Valentine Day’ and ‘Love’ till fourteenth century.
Similarly according to some, in third century the King Claudius (Second) of Rome took out the order that the young men should not marry and should join the army to face the repeated attacks occurring on the nation. However a priest named Valentine did not pay heed to this order and performed marriages of many young men and women secretly. He was sentenced to death and was sent to prison for his traitorous act. This so called saint then seduced the young daughter of the prison official while being in prison. Thus this Valentine who was supposed to have sacrificed all the attachment while being initiated as a missionary fell prey to allurement. What benefit do Hindus are going to derive by remembering such ‘Saints’?
