by Lisa Schauer
Even this monument to romantic passion – Valentine’s Day – is rooted in secrecy, violence and retribution.
The origins of Valentine’s Day date back to ancient times, much different from today’s commercial obsession.
The name itself comes from a martyr, someone who was killed or made to suffer because of their religious or other beliefs.
The Catholic Church actually has three martyrs named Valentine, but this one seems the most likely.
Valentine was a priest in Rome who was imprisoned and killed on February 14 in 269 A.D.
Saint Valentine was martyred for aiding persecuted Christians and refusing to deny his faith to the Roman emperor. 
He also secretly married young couples, thereby helping the groom avoid conscription into the pagan army.
Legend of Saint Valentine’s romantic mission thrived throughout the Middle Ages, due in part to a Geoffery Chaucer poem, The Parlement of Fowls, connecting St. Valentine’s Day with mating birds.
Valentine’s Day is believed to have been overlaid by the church onto the pagan holiday of Lupercalia to discourage rites of sacrifice.
Lupercalia was an ancient pagan festival of fertility held each year in Rome from February 13th to the 15th.
Unlike modern Valentine’s Day, Lupercalia was a rowdy, violent and lewd celebration bathed in blood, with animal sacrifices in the hopes of warding off evil spirits and infertility.
A likelier Valentine’s Day today might consist of ladies out for a “Galentine’s Day” of fun, or chocolate, roses and reservations for surf-and-turf.
This year, in the spirit of St. Valentine, consider helping out a friend or neighbor who might need some love and kindness. Afterall, that’s the service to others that makes our hearts truly full.