The cause of Valentine's Day started with a priest named Valentine who lived in Rome during the third century. At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. Valentine didn't like Emperor Claudius II. Claudius wanted to have a big army and he expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families, hence, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious which led him to a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. Claudius then decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel and preposterous! Being a priest, his job was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius II passed his law, Valentine kept on performing marriage ceremonies secretly. Valentine would lead the couple into a small candlelit room. They would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers. His time was over when he was caught. Valentine was thrown into jail and told that his punishment was death.