As friends and lovers everywhere prepare to celebrate Valentine's Day, we thought it would be nice to take a look back at the origins of this very special Holiday. It may surprise you to learn that there's more to the story than Cupid shooting arrows into the unsuspecting hearts of potential suitors.

Late in the third century, around 270 A.D., the Roman Empire was in a downward spiral that it never quite recovered from. There were ever increasing threats from outside invaders, not to mention the lack of qualified men to serve in the government and the military. The reigning emperor, Claudius II, decided that single men were better suited than married men to serve in these capacities so he decided to ban marriage.

A local Christian bishop, Valentine, secretly continued to offer the sacrament of marriage to couples who desired to do so. When Claudius learned of this he had Valentine arrested and ordered him to convert to worshipping the pagan Roman gods.

Instead of converting, Valentine, displaying great dignity and valor, turned the tables on Claudius and attempted to convert him to Christianity even though the consequence could be his death. Claudius was unpersuaded and on the 24th of February he had Valentine executed.

While in prison, tradition has it that the jailer in charge asked Bishop Valentine to pray for his blind daughter to be healed. Through Valentine's prayers the daughter's sight was miraculously restored. Afterward Valentine penned a note to the daughter and signed it "from your Valentine."

That's the traditional story of the beginning of what we now celebrate as St. Valentine's Day. As usual, truth is stranger than fiction.

Phil Rather, a noted researcher and author, contributed this article for Valentine for Lovers