What are facts and superstitions associated with Saint Valentine?

Answer 1

Valentine of Rome was a priest or, possibly, a bishop during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius II Gothicus. Claudius needed to raise an army but found it difficult to do so because by law he could not draft married men. He outlawed marriage but Valentine continued to marry couples in secret until the emperor found out and had him arrested, tortured and killed. During his time in prison he became quite close to the jailer's daughter who he had cured of blindness. Shortly before he was executed Valentine sent the girl a note, urging her to remain close to God. He signed it 'from your Valentine.'

Answer 2

The one fact that can be stated confidently is that we know nothing about the legendary Saint Valentine, not even whether he actually existed. All else attributed to him is factoids, not facts. Wikipedia says nothing is reliably known of St. Valentine except his name and the fact that he died on February 14 on Via Flaminia in the north of Rome. It says that it is uncertain whether St. Valentine is to be identified as one saint or the conflation of two saints of the same name. Several different martyrologies have been added to later hagiographies that are unreliable.

Early hagiographies were often little more than superstitions, and so it is with St. Valentine. While under house arrest and discussing his faith with Judge Asterius, Valentine was discussing the miracles of Jesus. The judge brought to Valentine his adopted blind daughter and said that if Valentine succeeded in restoring the girl's sight, he would do anything Valentine asked. Valentine laid his hands on her eyes and the child's vision was restored. Valentine told the judge that all of the idols around his should be broken, that he should fast for three days and then undergo baptism. An alternative legend is that he cured the prison guard's daughter of her blindness. There are many other legends behind Saint Valentine, none of them based on historical facts.

A superstition about Saint Valentine's Day is that if you see a flock of doves on the day, you will have a happy, peaceful marriage. If you see a goldfinch on Valentine's Day, you will marry a millionaire.