Claudius wished to have a large army. H-e expected men to volunteer to join. Lots of men just did not want to fight in wars. They didn’t wish to leave their wives and families. While you might have got, few m… I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the next century. Which was long, long ago! During those times, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I did not like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn’t the only person! A lot of people shared my feelings. Claudius wanted to have a large army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Lots of men just didn’t want to fight in wars. They didn’t want to leave their families and wives. While you may have got, few men registered. That made Claudius furious. What exactly happened? He had a ridiculous idea. He thought that if men weren’t married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any longer relationships. Teenagers thought his new law was inappropriate. I thought it had been preposterous! I undoubtedly was not likely to support that law! Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite actions was to marry couples. Despite Emperor Claudius handed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies — privately, needless to say. It had been really very exciting. Imagine a tiny candle-lit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We’d say the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the actions of soldiers. One night, we did hear footsteps. Identify supplementary info on this affiliated article directory by clicking linkemperor. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped over time. I was caught. (Not exactly as light on my feet as I applied to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death. I tried to remain cheerful. And have you any idea what? Wonderful things happened. Many teenagers came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up-to my window. They wanted me to understand that they, also, believed in love. One of these simple young adults was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to go to me in the cell. For another viewpoint, please glance at: read linkempereor. Sometimes we’d sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. For more information, we recommend people have a look at: linkemperor.com. She decided that used to do the proper thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the trick marriages. To the day I was to die, I left my friend a little notice thanking her for her friendship and respect. I signed it, ‘Love from your Valentine.’ I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine’s. It had been written o-n your day I died, February 1-4, 269 A.D. Now, annually on this day, people remember. But above all, they consider love and friendship. And when they consider Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand-in the way of love, and they giggle — because they realize that love can’t be beaten!.