Valentine's Day gift giving and romance stemmed from dark beginnings. St Valentine was a priest in Rome around 270 A.D. He lived under the rule of Emperor Claudius II who imposed an edict to prevent his soldiers from getting married. Emperor Claudius believed that his soldiers would fight more fiercely without concerns of a family at home. St Valentine married soldiers in secret and when the Emperor found out about the violation of his law, he executed Valentine.
