My Bloody Valentine - Maggi Dawn

http://maggidawn.com/my-bloody-valentine/

The bloody history of St. Valentine:

The story goes that the Roman Emperor Claudius II imposed a ban on marriages in order to boost his army. Only single men had to enter the army, and too many men were dodging the draft by getting married. Valentinus, though, in an effort to protect the holiness or sacramentality of Christian marriage, performed secret marriages, and when he got caught he was sentenced to death. While he awaited execution, he was showered with notes from young couples extolling the virtues of love over war. (Looks like John Lennon didn’t invent the slogan “Make love not war” after all.) These notes, if they ever existed at all, were supposedly the first Valentines. Poor old Valentinus was executed in February 14th, 269, a bloody end for the saint of love.

Like most saints and legends, history gives us several versions, each with it's own moral tale. Somehow a Roman holiday involving free love and illicit adventure had to be Christianized, giving way to each of the stories.