Valentine’s Day story is darker, but spiritually more significant, than the consumerist holiday we know today 

Valentine’s Day, celebrated on February 14, has a darker and more spiritual history than the current consumer celebration. There are doubts about the existence of Saint Valentine, whose name was removed from the sanctuary by the Catholic Church. According to the most widespread theory, Saint Valentine was a 3rd century bishop who challenged Marcus Aurelius Claudius, emperor who forbade marriages between active soldiers to prevent his performance in battle from diminishing. Valentine considered the ban unfair and continued to marry young couples in secret. After refusing to recant, denying his faith and the validity of marriages performed before the emperor, he was sentenced to death and beheaded, presumably, on 14 February.