Every year on Feb. 14, Etowah students choose whether to celebrate Valentine’s Day with their significant others, friends, or family. For those who do celebrate, the day is about love and showing appreciation towards their chosen person through gifts or quality time. Despite the holiday’s modern celebration, many are not aware of Valentine’s Day’s true origin: a bloody execution. 

Though the original story has been altered over the decades, all the tales have one thing in common, a man by the name of Saint Valentine. Due to Saint Valentine, the day is also referred to as “The feast of Saint Valentine” or “Saint Valentine’s Day.” 

“I did not know of [the origin], and that is very upsetting to me because I thought it was about love,” Sierra Cook, sophomore, said. 

The most popular and widely-accepted legend states that the holiday is centered around love because Saint Valentine defied the orders of Emperor Claudius II, former Roman emperor, by marrying couples in secret so husbands could avoid war. It is then said that Saint Valentine was executed on Feb. 14, and a few years later, the emperor executed another man with the name Valentine on Feb. 14. This gave the holiday its present day name and it all occurred within the fifth century, and it formed the holiday that is still celebrated today.  

“The origin of Valentine’s Day is strange, because he was marrying people in order to keep them from war, but it ended up getting him killed in the end. What is strange is that he married the men to help them get out of the war. So, I wonder, does that mean the spouses even loved each other or was it out of desperation?” Jayden Mangan, junior, said. 

Famous playwriters and poets such as Shakespeare and Geoffrey Chaucer are credited with shaping the modern ideas of Valentine’s Day. Chaucer wrote a poem dedicating this day as a traditional celebration of love. By the 17th century, due to the continued obsession, nations like Britain began officially celebrating Feb. 14 as a romantic holiday. 

“I think it was romanticized because [people obsess over] cute things such as Valentine’s Day because it takes off some of the pressure for romantic acts, as you can write them off as being in the Holiday spirit, and everyone loves [Valentine’s Day] because it is such a wholesome and sweet holiday now,” Hunter Bennett, senior, said. 

Throughout history, Feb. 14 has been romanticized and modernized to stray away from its horrific origins. While many Etowah teens believe Valentine’s Day is about love, many are unaware that it originated from a celebration of executions.