Origins
February is the month of romance and has been celebrated as such with fragments from both Christianity and ancient Roman traditions. It is a time for hearts, cards, flowers, and color variations with red or pink.
There were three martyrs recognized by the Catholic church who were either Valentine or Valentinus. One story about St. Valentine is that he was a priest during Emperor Claudius II’s rule in third century Rome and married soldiers in love going against the Emperor’s decree. Emperor Claudius II felt that young, single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families so he outlawed marriage. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius II ordered his death.
Then there is a legend about Saint Valentine of Terni who was also beheaded by Emperor Claudius II and was said to have helped Christians escape from being tortured or punished for their beliefs. There’s another legend where an imprisoned Valentine fell in love with a young girl who visited him in jail and wrote a letter to her signed “from your Valentine.”
In addition to February 14th being established to celebrate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial, the Roman celebration of Lupercalia took place in February by sacrificing a goat and a dog. The goat hide was then cut into strips, dipped into the sacrificial blood, and then any Roman women in the streets were gently slapped with the hide. The fields were also slapped with the hides. The Roman woman relished the slap because it was supposed to make them more fertile in the coming year. The legend continues with the single, young woman placing their names in an urn with the eligible bachelors then choosing a name. The name chosen lead to dating that person for a year and often ended with marriage. This celebration was outlawed in the fifth century by the Pope.
Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to record St. Valentine’s Day in his 1375 poem, “Parliament of Foules.”
My Thoughts
Regardless of how February 14th began, many in the world use this day to express or celebrate their love of another. The expressions are varied and many from cards and chocolates to flowers along with a romantic dinner. There are those who plan for this day way in advance and others who wait until the last minute but those on the receiving end don’t care when the planning started.
This does beg the question of why should we wait until February 14 to make this declaration? Shouldn’t we be declaring our love when it’s known? We don’t know when our time on this earth is up and given the state of affairs in the last year, I don’t believe any of us should be waiting to announce our love to our significant other or our family.
Taking this a step further, we should be treating EVERYONE with love and respect just as Christ did during his time on this earth. A kind word or even a smile with a greeting can often bring joy to that person. None of us know what another person is experiencing on that given day or in their life. A few years ago we traveled to the Bahamas for a few days and flew back by way of San Antonio, TX. We were in shock after touching down. Gone were the smiles and pleasant words of the Bahamians. Instead, we experienced sullen individuals who weren’t even courteous and barely acknowledged us. It was disappointing.
I strive to smile and be kind to everyone I meet whenever I am out because I don’t know what their day has been like or how their life is going. I am not always successful because I am not perfect (as per last week’s post) but I continue to try and hope that it does have a positive impact on the people I meet or interact with throughout my daily living.
I wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day! Hug the one you’re with and be nice to those you encounter! We can make this world a better place.
John 13:34-35
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”