Response to Using the Internet for Historical Research

I’m not sure how I feel about using Internet sources for my papers. I like to use scholarly journals and things like that, and some of the pages I used to the History of Valentine’s Day paper, make me feel a little uneasy. The only site that I did not feel uncomfortable using was the History Channel website, because I assume that they have to have the correctly facts because they are widely publicized and held to a different standard then Joe Shmo’s web-page.

The History of St. Valentines Day

Saint Valentines Day is a tradition that is steeped in legend. There are different theories about the day’s significance, and where it originated. It would seem obvious to assume that the day’s name sake, Saint Valentine, has something to do with showing someone how much they love them, with American Greeting Cards and chocolate.  However, St. Valentine is not synonymous with happy go lucky love and cherubs that shoot arrows in your butt to make you fall in love. This man was a Roman Catholic priest who would not listen to his emperor, marrying young men who were going to war against Emperor Claudius’ wishes. Valentine was imprisoned, and supposedly fell in love with the jailer’s daughter. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, and signed it “Your Valentine”, thus people say this was the first Valentine.Another variation of this story is that, while in prison, Valentine would find little notes in the cracks of his jail cell walls. These notes were from people who wanted prayers said for them. Regardless of which story is true, Valentine was put to death on Feb.14, 270 A.D.