4 Non-Romantic Facts About Valentine’s Day

Single and all alone this Valentine’s Day? Or even married but still alone, instead of enjoying a romantic candlelit dinner and roses and candy and flowers? Meh – join the club, people.

Don’t let it get to you, though. This Feb. 14 date is known for a lot more than just Valentine’s Day. And instead of moping, check out these other facts, which you can use to celebrate the day for many other reasons!

It Has More To Do With War Than Love

If you thought draft dodging didn’t come about until the 1960s, think again; that same “make love, not war” sentiment was sung centuries ago, too, and just might be the origin of what’s become today’s Valentine’s Day.

According to the most popular of legends, the Feb. 14 holiday is named after Valentine of Rome, who became a personal enemy of Emperor Claudius Gothicus. In preparation for new expeditions and battles, Claudius issued a temporary restriction on marriage. Single men with no family obligations were better soldiers, the emperor presumed, and married men were excluded from military drafts, too. Valentine, a bishop of the Catholic Church in Rome, disobeyed those orders, sneakily marrying young men who wanted to skip out on the draft. (Valid love may have been present in any or all of the young couples, of course.)

Valentine wound up imprisoned for violating Claudius’ orders. While imprisoned, the legend tells, he developed a personal relationship with the emperor’s daughter, and would sign his letters to her “from your Valentine.” He was executed on Feb. 14, according to the old tale.

The Catholic Church Officially Dropped St. Valentine’s Day As A Holiday Almost 50 Years Ago

In recognition of his faith and duties, Valentine was canonized to be a saint in 269 A.D, while the Catholic Church was ruled by Pope Galaseus. Centuries later, though, and as the holiday became a popular event in non-religious tones, the Church decided to stop St. Valentine’s Day as an official holiday.

In 1969 the Vatican formally removed it from the Roman calendar, and no longer celebrates it like it does with other “saint’s days.” There are many saints with that name, and there was even once a Pope Valentine. Historical review led to the belief that two different St. Valentines might actually be one and same person. Its end as a religious date hasn’t affected celebration of St. Valentine’s Day, though.

About That Heart-Shaped Symbol?

It’s not the shape of a human heart, of course. (And if it was, who’d use it in romance? It’s an ugly kind of organ, ain’t it?) Still, we use this heart-shaped “heart” image, and with romantic intentions. But the original use of this symbol may have only been sexual, however – and might even have been used to advertise prostitutes.

Instead of resembling a human heart, its top featured curved arcs that might represent the shape of a women’s buttocks while she bends over, say some theorists. That same symbol was used on the doors of brothels in ancient Pompeii, historians and archaeologists say, indicating the activities inside to visiting sailors.

Another theory is that the heart shape resembles two of the teardrop-shaped seeds of the silphium plant, which was long ago used as birth control. Silphium, which only grew on the coast of Libya, is now extinct.

Feb. 14 Isn’t Just Valentine’s Day

It’s not just a day for exchange of cards, candy, and kisses. This same Feb. 14 holds many other notable places in history, too. For example:

• On this day in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell applied for patent of his telephone creation,
• In 1929, Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin,
• Also in 1929, the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre occurred in Chicago, and
• The B-52s had their first gig on Feb. 14, 1976.

See? Instead of just romance, this day also has significance in technology, science, mob history, and music!