Valentine’s Day has become a popular holiday all over the world and is celebrated with flowers, chocolates and romance. Although everyone has heard of Valentine’s Day, very few know the history of this holiday.

The history of Valentine’s Day begins with the legend of Saint Valentine. The Catholic Church has recognized at least three saints named Valentine who were martyred. The legend states that one of these saints was a priest during the third century in Rome. During this time, Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with families, so he made it illegal for young men to get married. Valentine disagreed with the emperor and continued to marry young men and women in secret. Claudius later learned of this and ordered that Saint Valentine be put to death. 

According to another legend, Valentine sent the first “valentine” to his jailor’s daughter whom he fell in love with. It is said that before he died he wrote her a letter and signed “From your Valentine”, which is an expression that is still used today.

Valentine’s Day today is mostly known as a day of love. It’s a day for people to show how much they appreciate their significant other, but it can be a hard day for those who don’t have a significant other. For all those ladies who are single this Valentine’s Day, sophomore Lily Hicks has some advice.

“Have fun by yourself! You don’t need a man to be happy,” she said. 

So use this Valentine’s Day to surround yourself with people you love and in the wise words of junior Alexis Montemayor, “go crazy on them Valentine’s Day deals and treat yourself!”