Happy Valentine's Day?

Being an inherently curious little monkey, I decided to explore the origins of this lovely little holiday. Only what I discovered was not so lovely. There are three stories floating around as to how Valentine's Day came to be.

While the history of Valentine's Day itself is often debated (and I'm guessing its origins are debated after people grow bored of debating other issues like, oh I don't know, global hunger and war), it clearly links back to a Catholic saint named St. Valentine. But they say that the problem is there were actually three St. Valentine's -- one a priest, one a bishop, and little is known about the third. All were martyrs. It's always about death and martyrdom, isn't it? Fortunately, back in 469 A.D., when there were no TVs or cell phones, Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 a day to honor St. Valentine, one of these three men.

The first story tells of a Roman emperor who banned soldiers from marrying in the third century, but St. Valentine took issue with this. Good for him, a Saint who believed in a worthy cause. He became an advocate for soldiers and was executed as a result of his outspokenness. Hardly a tale of love, but still romantic in some twisted way.

The second says St. Valentine was executed for his beliefs in Christianity and just before he died, he left a farewell note for a loved one and signed it "From Your Valentine." Now that's more like it. Not the the execution part but the love note part. Now I can almost see where the custom of sending out cards and love notes comes from.

And the third and final belief about the holiday itself is that Valentine's Day grew out of a Middle Ages tradition of celebrating Feb. 14 as the day "the birds began to pair." No death. No massacres. No executions. I think I like this one of all three the best.

So folks, there you have it. Pick your version of the story, and stick to it.