With Valentine’s Day slowly approaching, stores shelves are filled with hearts and flowers and themes of love. Couples are buying things for each other or going on dates, but where did this tradition begin? Most people know Valentine’s day is based around the story of a Christian martyr named Saint Valentine, buried on the very holiday we celebrate.

Many interpretations of the story of Saint Valentine exist. When persecuted for being Christian by the Roman empire and imprisoned, one story says he cured the blindness of the jailer’s daughter before his execution. Another, more in line with the themes of romance that correlate with the holiday, where he left a letter to her signed, “Your Valentine”, and yet another story states that he performed weddings for soldiers unable to marry.

In the early days of the holiday, it was more commonly known as a celebration called “Feast of Saint Valentine” and became a celebration of romance in the 14th and 15th centuries when notions of courtly love flourished.

What do you do for Valentine’s Day? Do you celebrate with a feast, exchange gifts with the ones dearest to your heart, or just hang out?

Here are few thoughts about love and Valentine’s from students at Gilbert:

“I feel that love is very dangerous if you don’t see who you are giving your love to. Love takes a lot of energy, time and effort, and you can’t just give that up to anyone. You want to make sure you give your love to someone who supports your purpose and is always trying to motivate you to do more and that is willing to grow and build with you mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially.” ~ Angel

“Love is a wonderful feeling. Love should be expressed everyday, not just mainly on February 14th. Everyday we should be thankful for any little thing in our lives. We don’t need one day out of the year to express our feelings or to show our actions.” ~ Chico