The real history of Valentine's Day is not comprised of roses, chocolates and pretty cards. Instead, crime, imprisonment and execution are at the genesis of our modern day love fest, dating back to the man whose martyrdom may have inspired the holiday.

　　真正的情人节历史可不是由玫瑰、巧克力和精致贺卡组成的呦。如今的情人节是爱情的节日，可是从情人节的起源——瓦伦丁殉道开始， 这个日子就一直没和犯罪、监禁、死刑分开过。

　　There were reportedly three early Christian saints named Valentine, but the one the holiday likely comes from was a Roman priest during the 3rd century A.D. under Emperor Claudius II.

　　传说中有3位名叫瓦伦丁的早期基督教圣人。情人节得名于其中一位公元3世纪的罗马牧师，当时的皇帝是克劳狄二世。

　　The Roman Empire was experiencing massive turmoil at the time. Dubbed the 'Crisis of the Third Century' by scholars, this period saw the empire divide into three competing states, with the threat of invasion all around.

　　当时，罗马陷入了极大的混乱。帝国分裂成三个争斗不休的国家，四方不断传来入侵的警讯，学者们称之为“三世纪危机”。

　　Claudius made the unpopular decision to ban marriage among young people, believing that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers. With the Roman Empire hanging by a thread, Claudius needed all the brazen war power he could get.

　　因为相信未婚的战士打仗更勇敢，克劳狄发布了一项不得人心的禁令，不允许年轻人结婚。由于罗马帝国面临着严重威胁，克劳狄需要所有可能的战争力量。

　　This is where Valentine comes in; the pesky priest who believed marriage to be a God-given sacrament. Valentine began officiating marriages in secret but was eventually found out and imprisoned. Author Greg Tobin noted that the advent of the Valentine's Day love note may have come about from young children passing Valentine notes through the prison bars, but this may be embellishment to an otherwise tragic story.

　　这时瓦伦丁出现了。这位讨厌的牧师相信婚姻是上帝赐予的圣礼并开始秘密主持婚礼。此事最终暴露，瓦伦丁也被关入牢房。作家格雷格?托宾指出情人节的爱情便条可能起源于小孩给牢内的瓦伦丁传字条。然而，这可能只是对另一个悲剧故事的润饰。

　　Tobin describes Valentine's fate:

　　关于瓦伦丁的命运，托宾这样写道：

　　“The priest was eventually beheaded and then named a martyr by the Church because he gave up his life to perform the sacrament of marriage: for love of love and love of God.”

　　“最后，牧师被斩首。教会因为瓦伦丁牺牲自己主持婚礼这一承载对恋情和上帝的爱的圣仪，册封他为殉道者。”

　　At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I declared February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day, and centuries later romantic authors like Geoffrey Chaucer and Shakespeare helped seal the deal with references to the day in their works.

　　五世纪末，教皇基拉西乌斯一世宣布2月14日为圣瓦伦丁日。几百年后，杰弗雷?乔叟和莎士比亚等浪漫主义作家用他们的著作将这个日子发扬光大。

　　(来源：沪江英语)