Valentine’s Day is named after Saint Valentine, a Catholic priest who lived in Rome in the 3rd century. There are many stories about St Valentine, and over time these stories grew into the legend we know today. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. Well, let’s start from the very beginning. 

Two thousand years ago, the most powerful army in the world belonged to the Romans. The Romans were so strong that they conquered almost all of Europe and parts of Asia and Africa, but then they began to grow very rich and a little bit lazy. The soldiers missed their homes. They wanted to get married and settle down.  

The Emperor, whose name was Claudius II, grew worried that his army was growing soft, and so he made a law that no soldier was allowed to get married. By that time, many of the Romans were Christians, and one of their leaders was a bishop called Valentine. Valentine believed that if a man and woman fell in love with each other, they should get married, and so he decided to let soldiers get married in his church even though it was against the law. The soldiers’ weddings were meant to be kept secret, but as you know, all secrets are hard to keep, and soon the word got out.