Each time this holiday comes, I am always excited because it is the time I can say and express my love and affection towards a person. But at the same time I am wondering how come we have this day called Valentines Day, which I could associate as the day of Valentine. But who is he?
My curious mind tried to search about the history of this very special day. But browsing the internet just get me confused because there are various different version of stories about this day or even Saint Valentine himself. My demand is not satisfied because I cannot find a unique answer to my query, and I don’t know what story I would believe either. So, I scanned every possible source I could find, from books to the web just to at least say to myself I found out something really unique and true perhaps.
So what is Valentines Day and how did it began?
My research says:
Valentine’s Day is an annual holiday honoring lovers. It is celebrated on February 14 by the custom of sending greeting cards or gifts to express affection. The cards, known as valentines, are often designed with hearts to symbolize love.
The holiday probably derives from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalis (February 15), also called the Lupercalia. In an annual rite of fertility, eligible young men and women would be paired as couples through a town lottery. Briefly clad or naked men would then run through the town carrying the skins of newly sacrificed goats dipped in blood. The women of the town would present themselves to be gently slapped by the strips and marked by the blood to improve their chances of conceiving in the coming year.
As Christianity came to dominance in Europe , pagan holidays such as Lupercalia were frequently renamed for early Christian martyrs. In 496 Pope Gelasius officially declared February 14 to be the feast day of two Roman martyrs, both named Saint Valentine, who lived in the 3rd century. Neither Saint Valentine seems to have an obvious connection to courtship or lovers.
Despite attempts by the Christian church to sanctify the holiday, the association of Valentine’s Day with romance and courtship continued through the Middle Ages. In medieval France and England Worcester , Massachusetts
But who really is Saint Valentine? What is his real story?“Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.
Claudius wanted to have a big army. 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. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!
Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.
One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.
I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.
One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."
I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!”
My say:
It is nice to know Saint Valentine's story. I am thankful that because of him we have this very special day to celebrate with the ones we love. We can always show our love everyday, you say, but having a special day for this is something that is really really heart touching because we don’t always send someone cards in an ordinary day or even kiss and hug them in a very memorable moment; we can always say we love them but we cannot always show sweet gestures. This day is the time to unload all our fantasies of love; to share our longing to be able to express our special feelings towards someone and show them that we really care even for just a day. I think this is also a wake up call for lovers who don’t have time for each other to at least spend a quality time together.
This day has many meanings for each individual. Bottom line is how we spend it with people close to our hearts that really matters. This day also reminds us that we should not be afraid to express our love, to be loved and to feel love.
Happy Valentines Day everyone!
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