The Lovers' Festival

It won't be long until St Valentine's Day which, for those of you with no romance in your souls, falls on February 14th.  Although Valentine is  a well-known name, not much is known about the saint himself.  There were three Valentines who were Christian martyrs.  One was martyred with some companions in Africa and all that is known about him is his name.  The other two were St Valentine of Terni and St Valentine of Rome.  Both of them were martyred and buried on the Via Flaminia.

The legend of Valentine is that he was a priest who lived in Rome around 270 AD.  Rome at that time was under threat from various neighbouring states and it was imperative that the Empire should have a strong army.  To this end, the EmperorClaudius II made a decree that young people should not be allowed to marry because he believed that a married man's loyalties would always be divided between the State and his wife and family.

Valentine, on the other hand, believed it was his duty under God to marry young lovers who wished to be united and he conducted marriage ceremonies in secret.  Nothing is ever truly a secret if more than one person knows it, however, and it was inevitable that Claudius II would find out what Valentine was doing.  Incensed, the emperor had the young priest captured and thrown into jail.

Valentine's jailer  had a daughter who was blind.  He had heard that the young priest had healing powers and he begged Valentine to try to heal his daughter.  Valentine duly obliged, the girl's sight was restored and a strong friendship was formed between the young couple.

Eventually Claudius II visited Valentine in his jail and was impressed by the way he had clung to his beliefs despite the floggings and beatings he had endured.  He was less impressed, however, by the young priest's attempts to convert him to Christianity and sentenced Valentine to death by beheading.

On the eve of his execution Valentine is said to have written a letter to his jailer's daughter and signed it "from your Valentine".  Some say the tradition of sending Valentine's cards originates from this story.

There are various superstitions linked to St Valentine's Day.  It is traditionally supposed to be the day when birds choose their mates and it is said that the first man that an unmarried girl sees on Valentine's Day will either become her husband or will resemble the man that she will eventually marry.  It is (of course) considered lucky to be woken with a kiss on Valentine's Day.

Although red roses are sent as a token of love on Valentine's Day, violets are said to have grown outside the window of his jail cell, and this is the flower most associated with him.  The violet also represents faithfulness.

Over the next few posts I'll tell the story of some ghostly lovers in Fife.