Valentine's Day? What is it?

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“Each time you love, love as deeply as if it were forever” -Audre Lorde- Some people fall in love at first sight. Moreover, remain happy for the rest of their lives. Some others fall in love at first sight, only to realize that it was infatuation and regret it later. However, love takes time to grow. Valentine's Day, in other words Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Roman Catholic feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, through later folk traditions, has become a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and romantic love in many regions of the world. Valentine’s Day is a holiday when lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts. The holiday has expanded to express affection between relatives and friends. The day gets its name from a famous saint, but there are various stories of who he was. The popular belief about St. Valentine is that he was a priest from Rome. “Emperor Claudius II had banned marriage because he thought married men were bad soldiers. Valentine felt this was unfair, so he broke the rules and arranged marriages in secret. When Claudius found out, Valentine was thrown in jail and sentenced to death. There, he fell in love with the jailer's daughter and when he was taken to be killed on 14 February he sent her a love letter signed "from your Valentine". Gradually, St Valentine's name started to be used by people to express their feelings to those they loved. References https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/16945378

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