St Valentine's story started a short time before his death in AD 280. The emperor at the time was namedClaudius. He decided that none of the men in the army could be married. Saint Valentine, whose real name was Valentinus, was a Christian3 priest4. He disagreed with Claudius' decision and secretly helped young couples get married. The emperor was furious at what Valentinus did. So,Claudius arrested him and put him in prison.

Valentinus worried that his followers would lose hope because he was arrested. So, he sent them messages by tying notes to doves' legs. In the messages, he encouraged them to stay faithful and to look out for one another.

It is also said that on the day Valentinus was killed, he wrote a goodbye note to the daughter of a prison guard. She had been blind and deaf before he had cured her. On the note, he signed, "from your Valentine." In AD 496, Pope Gelasius I declared Valentinus to be a martyr5 and Valentinus received the title6 of Saint. Although the details of Valetinus' life have been lost in history, his legend still exists.

关于圣瓦仑丁的故事，是他在公元280年去世前不久所揭开序幕的。当时的皇帝叫克劳迪斯。他下令军队里的男人都不能结婚。本名为瓦仑廷斯的圣瓦仑丁是一名基督教牧师。他不认同克劳迪斯的命令，并且还秘密地帮助年轻情侣结婚。皇帝对瓦仑廷斯的所作所为大为光火。所以克劳迪斯将他逮捕并关进牢里。瓦仑廷斯担心他的追随者会因为他被逮捕而失去希望。因此他便飞鸽传书给他们。在信息中，他鼓励他们保持信念并照料彼此。

此外，据说在瓦仑廷斯被处死当天，他写了一张告别纸条给某位狱卒的女儿。瓦仑廷斯将她治愈之前，她一直是又聋又瞎。他在便条上签上『来自妳的瓦仑丁』（编按：此处的"from your Valentine"只是单纯署名而已。但时至今日，这样的签法则常出现在情人节卡片上，意思也变为『来自你的情人』之意）。公元496年，教宗杰拉西斯一世宣布瓦仑廷斯成为一位殉教者，同时也得到圣者的头衔。虽然瓦仑廷斯生平故事的细节在历史中为人所遗忘，但是他的传奇却依然流传至今。