Who Was Valentine? And Some Advice for a Stronger Love

It was a grade-3 Valentine’s Day party. We had highly processed chocolate, some red balloons, and an awkward exchange of Valentine’s cards:

Roses are red / Violets are nice
Kiss me once / I’ll kiss you twice!

Ba da boom.

I’d like to say that our poetry and romantic prowess improve with age, but I’m not sure that’s accurate.

But the whole February 14th thing makes you wonder:

• Who actually was Valentine?
• And how do we grow a stronger love?

First, Valentine

There’s some very fuzzy info out there. Two people named Valentine are traced to the 3rd century—one a bishop, the other a priest, both killed for their faith.

They may be different people, or the same person (with conflicting stats). It’s hard to be sure.

Some say the priest was in the habit of marrying young couples no one else would marry. Kind of like the guy in Romeo and Juliet…