LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)- Before the discounts and the flyers, there was a priest, a blanket of night, and a forbidden vow made in secret. We trade in chocolate and “clicks,” but Saint Valentine traded in blood and conviction. Between the ruins of 3rd-century Rome and the performative love of 2026 lies a truth buried under centuries of dust. In a world of modern “Claudius-es,” have we forgotten the man who lost his head so we could find our hearts? This is not a greeting card story—it’s a journey back to the Flaminian Gate to reclaim the soul of a rebellion.
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The season of love is yet upon us. Year to year we celebrate “Valentine”. Romantic getaways, gifts, dates, everything and anything a mind in love or lust conjures to make its partner happy.
It’s just a few days away and flyers have been circulating, offering discounts and special deals. Planned surprises and too many services are offered just to make the day a lasting memory.
Whether it’s done to get into someone’s pants or just to make your special someone feel seen, it is going to be a lovely day — for some. Don’t get me started on the avalanche of events that would follow, hours, days, weeks or even 9 months later.
But for a moment, let’s go back in time. Let’s visit Rome, between the timeline of A.D. 269–270 during the reign of Emperor Claudius II Gothicus, a time when Valentine walked the earth.
While the full history of the man whose true nature and sacrifice we’ve forgotten is shrouded in mystery, popular accounts focus on a beloved priest or bishop who lived in Rome during the 3rd century when christians faced persecution. His story to martyrdom and later, sainthood generally begins with a clash between faith and imperial law.
As earlier stated, he watched the sun rise proudly in gold during the reign of the Emperor nicknamed “Claudius the Cruel” and watched it set, painting the sky in a fury of colors at a time when the Roman Empire was constantly at war.
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Disliked by many who smiled to his face, Claudius believed that married men made poor soldiers because they were drawn to home, a distraction he believed made them unwilling to risk their lives on the battlefield. For context, these soldiers were not Uriah, the victim of King David’s lust, I mean Bethsheba’s original husband.
Aside from divine intervention, how can a man be granted a furlough to feel the warmth of his beautiful wife and yet, stayed consumed by the thought of sweaty and bloodied men on the field of death?
One day, Claudius the Cruel woke up with a wild thought, ‘What if I banned all marriages and engagements for young men?’ Who cares if they were in “love”, unattached men follow orders. But, Valentine disagreed. He believed this decree was an injustice against the sacred bond of God’s mandate — “to be fruitful and multiply,” “to love and submit,” “to leave one’s parents and cleave to the wife.”
A rebel, a man whose purpose centuries of dust and silky webs has hidden, defied the emperor’s order and began performing secret weddings under the blanket of night and in places known only to the hearts in love. Fully aware of the risks, Valentine understood what many today forget, a truth later echoed by Albert Camus, ‘The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.’
But we all know that no secret is truly a secret, someone knows. Eventually, little birds sang and Valentine’s secret ceremonies reached the emperor’s ears. He was caught and brought before Claudius, who was initially impressed by his wisdom that he gave him two options — convert to Roman paganism or I’ll have your head. Instead, Valentine “the fearless” humbly gave his own terms — convert to Christianity and let love lead.
The audacity of a man whose fate already hung by a thread enraged Claudius the Cruel so much he chose to have his head regardless.
Valentine, being a man of love befriended his jailer, Asterius while he awaited execution in prison. Although the accounts of his time in prison have many versions but the one that stands out says Asterius asked Valentine to pray for his blind daughter, Julia and her sight was miraculously restored. Wowed by the miracle, the jailer and his entire household (some accounts say 46 people) converted to Christianity and were baptized.
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Eventually, his death day arrived and on the eve of his execution, Valentine wrote a final farewell note to Julia with whom he shared a bond, and signed it “From your Valentine,” a phrase that launched a centuries-long tradition of signing love notes. According to the legend, on February 14, around 270 A.D., Valentine’s mortal body was beaten and bloodied with clubs and his head subsequently taken outside the Flaminian Gate.
Despite his sacrifice, everyone who knew him as a martyr and loved him were dead for approximately 226 years before his purpose was officially honored by the Church with a designated feast; the “Feast of Saint Valentine,” replacing the existing Roman pagan festival of Lupercalia.
In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius I went through the history books, touched by this man’s sacrifice, he established February 14 as a day to honor Valentine’s sacrifice. History has it that the Pope famously remarked that Valentine was among those “whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God.”
Now a Saint, Valentine remained on the official Catholic calendar for over 1,400 years until 1969, when he was removed from the General Roman Calendar because so little of his life could be historically verified, though he remains an officially recognized saint.
While he was honored as a saint in the 5th century, it took nearly 1,100 years after his death for the day to become associated with romantic love, largely due to the works of poet Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century.
The time-machine calls, let’s return to the present.
It’s 2026, and it’s almost time to celebrate “Valentine’s Day.” Many do not even bother to call it by its original name, “Feast of Saint Valentine” or remember why it was established. It begs to ask, what do we do with this one? What do we intend to give that’s never been had before? Why has the true purpose of the day shifted from “honor and sacrifice” to “giving and whatever goes down at night.”
Mother Theresa once said, ‘Love is not a feeling to be felt, but a sacrifice to be made’ and we have forgotten that. We trade in feelings and transactions, while the man we celebrate traded in blood and conviction. I’m not asking that we die to make a difference, I only ask for introspection towards our style of giving “something.”
From simple ceremonies to honor love to hefty spending to please and outdo. Did the man lose his head so we can forget? Yes, it’s a season of giving and sharing but we’ve forgotten how to give and what to share. The narrative has shifted and even if we are to give, what are we giving?
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Look around, in every place of authority sits one or more “Claudius the Cruel” plundering, embezzling, maiming and destroying. They did not ban marriages and engagements, but have indirectly banned much more. Freedom. Freedom to “be.” Rights. Rights to “live.”
Remember the maxim, “Where there is no law there is no sin.” Yes, it is in the human nature to “overdo” but those we look up to, the ones making these laws are actually the ones “overdoing.” Even we the people are no better, we’ve become Claudius-es of our own.
To the seven deadly sins listed by the Catholic Church, we’ve added a hundred and one more. Wars, kidnappings, organs harvesting, stealing, murder, infidelity, and so much more. Then on the Feast of Valentine, we buy gifts, smile and say we are spreading love.
But love these days comes with conditions. Yeah, some are chivalrous secretly like Valentine and even when the camera is on, while others hmmm, not when there are no flashing lights. We are obsessed with views, engagements, and following. The world has become crazed with being seen, going viral, and being liked (click-click).
We’ve forgotten there is a higher calling. Just like Albert Pike said, ‘What we do for ourselves dies with us, but what we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.’
In our lives and in the lives of those around us—strangers and friends—will our actions survive the dust and silky webs of centuries? Valentine’s head was taken, but his purpose is living organically through time. By refusing to let the law dictate the heart, Valentine became the ultimate rebel, his very existence a threat to the state.
What about ours? Do we give merely to be seen, or do we, like the martyr, give ourselves for the greater good? No one is asking anyone to “self-immolate” or die for the greater good, it is not advisable cos the world forgets its heroes too quickly.
But, in our lives and in the lives of those around us, strangers and friends, are we merely performative, or are we irreplaceable because we stand for something? Do we give to be seen, or like the man who stood before Claudius, do we give ourselves for the greater good?
