Welcome to Fabulous Fusion Food's St Valentine's Day Recipes Page — This is a continuation of a series of pages on the history of certain occasions and the recipes associated with that occasion. This page details the story of St Valentine as well as why February 14th became the saint's feast day and is, today associated with lovers. You will learn about the various practices and beliefs associated with Valentine's day, as well as finding out about some of the traditional recipes that you can cook to celebrate St Vaentine's day. Valentine's day is celebrated on February 14^th.

Below you will find a brief history of St Valentines' day along with links to a range of recipes suitable for celebrating this lovers' day. There are recipes for two to share and recipes including foods believed to be aphrodisiacs.

Popular Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins or turnips into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, and watching horror or Halloween-themed films.

The History of St Valentine

The Ancient Martyrs

In English-speaking countries Valentine's day is the traditional day, celebrated on February 14^th on which lovers display their affection for one another by sending cards, gifting chocolates and flowers or preparing romantic meals.

However, the origins of Valentine's day is something of a mystery. It seems to have grown in popularity in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished and is probably named after two amongst the many early Christian martyrs bearing the name 'Valentine' who were buried along the Via Flaminia road connecting Rome with Rimini.

Indeed, the name 'Valentine' does not occur in the very earliest list of Roman martyrs, as compiled by the Chronographer of 354. In fact, the feast of St. Valentine itself was first established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who included Valentine among those '... whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God'. As Gelasius implied, nothing was known, even then, about the lives of any of these martyrs, and Saint Valentine that appears in various martyrologies in connection with February 14 is described either as:

A priest in Rome
A bishop of Interamna (modern Terni)
A martyr in the Roman province of Africa

The name Valentine (or Valentinus in Latin) derives from derived from the Latin valens (worthy), and was a common name in Late antiquity. Of the various early Christian martyrs bearing this name our first candidate for St Valentine of Valentine's day is Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) was a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom about 269 CE and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.

The first representation of this Saint Valentine appeared in the Nuremberg Chronicle, (1493); alongside the woodcut portrait of Valentine the text states that he was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius II, known as Claudius Gothicus. He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Helping Christians at this time was considered a crime.

An almost certainly apocryphal tale has grown around him, where Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter whom he healed by restoring her sight — and who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today.

The second candidate is Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae). Valentine of Tern became bishop of Interamna (modern-day Terni) about 197 CE and is said to have been killed during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian. He is also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino).

No romantic elements are present in the original early medieval biographies of either of these martyrs. By the time a Saint Valentine became linked to romance in the fourteenth century, distinctions between Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni were utterly lost.

The Early Medieval acta of both Saint Valentines were excerpted by Bede and briefly expounded in Legenda Aurea (Golden Legend). According to that version, St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer. However, the Legenda Aurea provides no connection whatsoever between St Valentine and romantic love.

Ancient Practices

In Roman times, there was a festival, Lupercalia observed February 13 through 15; an archaic rite connected to fertility. However, Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome. The more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning 'Juno the purifier' or 'the chaste Juno', was celebrated on February 13–14.

It has been commonly thought that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to Christianize celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia, and that a commemorative feast was established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I, of those '... whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God,' among whom was Valentine, was set for the useful day. However, there is no direct link between the Roman traditions and the later Christian traditions. Indeed, the links between romantic love and St Valentine's day do not appear until the time of Chaucer in the late 14th century.

The Middle Ages

Indeed, many of the current legends that characterise Saint Valentine were invented in the fourteenth century in England, notably by Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle, when the feast day of February 14 first became associated with romantic love.

The earliest surviving valentine is a fifteenth-century rondeau written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his 'valentined' wife. At the time, the duke was being held in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt, 1415.

The Modern Day

In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man’s Valentine Writer, which contained scores of suggested sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose his own. Printers had already begun producing a limited number of cards with verses and sketches, called 'mechanical valentines', and a reduction in postal rates in the next century ushered in the less personal but easier practice of mailing valentines. That, in turn, made it possible for the first time to exchange cards anonymously, which is taken as the reason for the sudden appearance of racy verse in an era that was otherwise, at least on the surface, prudishly Victorian.

Valentine's Day and the Red Heart

From Greek times it was known that the heart pumped blood around the body. They also observed that the heart pumps faster when the person is agitated or excited. As a result the heart was divined as the seat of emotions and feelings. Poets eulogized the rôle of he heart in the feelings of love and romance. Over the centuries the association between the heart and love became very deep seated. Blood, of course, is red and is the vital fluid pumped by the heart. So the colour read itself became a proxy for the heart and for the love felt by the heart.

As a result the caricature of the red heart, red cloth and red roses became traditional Valentines symbols. Often it's the red heart pierced by cupid's arrow that is used as a Valentine symbol. This expresses the vulnerability of love in that Cupid's arrow can induce love between two people, but that the act of love also lends the lovers prone to rejection and hurt. Thus the piercing arrow symbolises the vulnerability of love.

This association is maintained today with heart symbols on Valentine day cards and red heart-shaped boxes of chocolates or red roses given as gifts. Even for those organising romantic dinners damask tablecloths, napkins and decorations as well as romantic red candles are a must.

Valentine's Day Recipes:

Often, foods considered to be aphrodisiac are included in many Valentine's day recipes. Below is a list of aphrodisiac foods that you might wish to base a Valentine's day meal upon:

Asparagus; Almonds, Avocados; Bananas (particularly the sap of the red banana); Basil; Rocket (Arugula); Truffles; Coffee; Dark Chocolate; Coriander (Cilantro); Honey; Vanilla; Liquorice; Raspberries; Carrots; Ginger; Ginseng; Garlic; Figs; Wine (Particularly Champagne); Strawberries; Celery; Ginkgo; Lettuce; Oysters; Saffron; Artichokes; Tomatoes (from the French term pomme d'amour); Passion Fruit.

For those planning romantic meals during Valentine's day here are some recipe suggestions to take you from Breakfast to dinner, as well as ideas for making your own chocolates and gifts.