Valentine's Day: 5 Interesting Facts
2. Love and epilepsy
While most commonly identified with the day of romance and noted by the Catholic Church as the patron saint of lovers, St. Valentine actually has other official titles in Catholic tradition.
One of the lesser-known things credited to St. Valentine is that of the title of the patron saint of epilepsy. There are differing accounts as to how the saint got associated with the illness.
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"Some accounts suggest he is connected to epilepsy because the name Valentine is similar to the German word for 'fallen.' Epilepsy was once known as the 'falling sickness' because some seizures caused a person to lose consciousness and fall," according to the Epilepsy Foundation.
"Still, other legends propose that a third century bishop named Valentine von Terni freed the son of a Roman orator from an epileptic seizure."
In addition to love and epilepsy, St. Valentine is also the patron saint of bee keepers, fainting, plague, travelers, young people and greetings.
