The Roman Emperor Claudius II was fighting many wars. He wanted a strong army, but many men did not want to be soldiers. Claudius thought the men wanted to stay home to be with their wives and children instead of leaving to fight his battles. In order to persuade men to become soldiers willingly he decided to make getting married illegal! No one in all of Rome could get married. Valentine, who was a priest, believed that people needed to get married. He thought that if they were not married, they would be tempted to sin by living together without being married. So he secretly performed marriages anyway. He performed the weddings in secret places so the Roman soldiers would not find out, but eventually they did. Valentine was arrested and brought before the Emperor. The Emperor thought Valentine was a well spoken and wise young man, and encouraged him to stop being a Christian and become a loyal Roman. Valentine would not deny his beliefs and he refused. He was sent to prison until he could be executed. While he was in prison he sent out letters to his friends and asked to be prayed for by writing Remember your Valentine. Valentine was killed on the 14th of February around the year 269.
Did you know that this was the reason we celebrate the love we share with others on this day? I’m twenty five & shamefully did not know this! The handsome little man on the blog today is not nearly old enough for marriage but he knows the love of his mommy & daddy, his two older sisters & a LONG string of Chappy & Tally women that let him know he’s loved everyday! Carter Allen, my little kitten is hitting milestones so incredibly fast! He’s 4 months old now & during his Valentine session he sat up on his own! He’s such a sweet little guy & I have a feeling he is going to spend a lot of his time in the future in front of my lens!
We hope you all had a love filled Valentine’s day! Time to mush!
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