Through the years, this day of
Valentine has seen a lot. From ancient martyrs to modern-day romantics,
Valentine's Day has always been an eventful day for most. As we passionately
give gifts, or wait for them, let us delve a little deeper and find out the
history behind this day of love.
Flowers, chocolates, heart-shaped
outlines, greeting cards, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid – this is
just part of a bigger picture. We do know that February has long been celebrated
as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today,
contains vestiges of both Western and Eastern traditions. Families dining out,
friends roaming streets, couples holding hands, lovers locked in a kiss, people
blind-dating, strangers getting together, children playing and laughing about –
loving, caring, hoping.
But behind these romantic scenes
are images of a gruesome past – lots of blood, so red, so bloody red.
Valentine’s Day is said to be commemorated all in the name of atleast three
different martyred saints named Valentine – Valentine of Rome, Valentine of
Terni and the Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a third saint named
Valentine of Alexandria who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of
February 14. There has always been a big confusion as to who exactly was St.
Valentine. History talks about three people, the Roman saint Valentine who was
a bishop, Valentine of Terni and Valentine of Alexandria who is better known as
Valentinus, who were martyred on the very day (i.e., 14th February) for
committing the sin of 'spreading love'.
All three have died in the name
of love. Valentine of Rome was a priest who defied Emperor Claudius II and
continued to perform marriages in secret. Claudius decided that single men made
better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for
young men. Valentine of Rome was thrown in prison and later on put to death
when his actions were discovered. During his stay in jail, the young people of
Rome, who threw flowers and notes through his prison window, visited him. These
people wanted him to know that they, too, believed in love. One of them was the
daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit Valentine of Rome
in his cell and they sat and talked for hours. She kept his spirits up and
agreed that Valentine had done the right thing by ignoring Emperor Claudius and
pushing through with the secret marriages. On the day of his death, Valentine
left her a note signed, ‘Love from your Valentine’.
A similar story revolves around
Valentine of Terni. Noted evangelist, miracle worker and healer, he was much
loved by his flock. It is said that he was devoted to the cause of spreading
the message of love and forgiveness among people and is known to have mystical
powers. He could heal wounds and cure incurable diseases miraculously. He was
considered the messenger of God. However, at that time Christianity was not the
accepted religion and Christians were prosecuted. Hence, this saintly man was
beheaded for his faith and beliefs. He was imprisoned, tortured, and beheaded
by order of the prefect Placid Furius during the persecution of Aurelius. He
was murdered in secret and at night to avoid riots and revenge by the people of
Terni.
Valentine of Alexandria on the
other hand, believed in spiritual love. He said that there are three kinds of
people, spiritual, psychical and material, and those who were of the first kind
(i.e., spiritual) were blessed with the knowledge (or gnosis). Therefore,
spirituality can alone lead a man to his salvation. He also preached the
importance of marriage, however, it clashed with the growing asceticism of
Christian thought. There have been churches dedicated to Valentine of
Alexandria and his disciples spread his message of love to date.
While some believed that
Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate Saint
Valentine’s death, others claim that the Christian church may have decided to
place St. Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to
"Christianize" the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the
ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated
to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders
Romulus and Remus.
To begin the festival, members of
the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the
infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been
cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility,
and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat's hide into strips,
dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping
both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman
women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more
fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the
young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's
bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his
chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.
While sending cards, flowers, chocolates, and other gifts is
traditional in the Philippines and other countries around the world,
Valentine’s Day has various local customs. We all have heard the phrase ‘wearing
your heart on your sleeve’, but the phrase
has actually come from Middle ages, when according to a popular tradition,
young men and women would draw chits from a bowl, to know the names of their
valentines and then, would wear that name on their sleeve for the entire week.
Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults
on Valentine's Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang
was:
Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine ---
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine
In Wales wooden love spoons were
carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were
favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my
heart!"
In some countries, a young woman
may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it
means she will marry him.
Some people used to believe that
if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would
marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very
happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.
Think of five or six names of
boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names
until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying
when the stem fell off.
A day for the celebration of love
is what Valentine is. In the hustle-bustle, we must not forget this small, yet,
important fact. A relationship survives on the pillars of love and trust. We
celebrate this day to remind ourselves how much we need the people we love and
what role they play in our lives. Therefore, let us celebrate this day for
those who stood by us through thick and thin, for those who willingly accept us
for what we are and for those, who have faith in us.
This entire aspect of defiance
for love of which the three Valentines showed connects the history of the
modern Valentine’s day to bravery or "valor". The color red is
associated to the bloodshed which occurred all in the name of love. Now, every
year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love
and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, Order of Prefect
Placid Furius, and all those who persecuted the three saints, people remember
how these persecutors tried to stand in the way of love, and the people laugh –
because they know that love can't be beaten!
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