Happy Valentine’s Day!

The holiday we know today got its name from a man named Valentine. As the story goes, Emperor Claudius II of Rome—who reigned from the year 268 A.D. to 270 A.D.—banned marriage because he thought unmarried men made better soldiers. Valentine thought this was unfair and decided to break the rules and perform marriages anyway. He kept the ceremonies quiet, but he was eventually caught and later killed on February 14 of the year 270 for defying the emperor. Right before he died, Valentine supposedly wrote the first-ever “valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, with whom he’d fallen in love. Later, in the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I declared the day of his death as St. Valentine’s Day.

No matter how you celebrate Valentine's Day, one thing's for sure: This is one totally aww-some holiday.

To great colleagues who brightens each workday and brings out the best in everyone around them, Happy Valentine’s Day!