Please do not think I am a “hum-bug scrooge” when it comes
to Valentine’s Day. It is a day to me like any other. I fail to see how flowers
and chocolates on one day of the year depict the appreciation for the people we
love so much. To me it is just a highly commercialized form of capitalism. Many
of you might say that I would feel differently if I was in love or seeing
someone, but I do not think so. I have loved and I have been loved. I am also
no expert on the subject matter because all my coupled relationships have gone
down the crapper; but, that doesn’t mean there isn’t romance in my life.
Romantic at heart comes in various forms and it is a wonderful attribute for
each of us to acquire.
What I am about to share with you is very interesting.
According to my research Valentine’s Day is named for a Christian martyr and
dates back to the 5th century, but has its origins in the Roman
holiday of Lupercalia.
St Valentine was a holy priest in Rome who assisted with
martyrs in the persecution under Claudius II. He was taken prisoner and sent to
Rome. Claudius II tried to get him to renounce his faith as ineffective. He
refused. He was beaten merciless and then beheaded on February 14, 270 AD.
Why was Claudius II upset? Could it have been because of the
Roman festival on February 15th under the leadership of a (pagan)
priest Luperci? The origins of the
festival are uncertain. The festival is also associated with fertility and the
god Faunus. Each Lupercalia started
with a sacrifice of specific chosen goats and dog. After the sacrifice, the
bloody knife would touch the head of each and then be wiped off with “wool
dipped in milk” while two young men laughed. After a feast, two “thongs” cut by
Luperci would strike any woman they saw and it was suppose to make a woman
fertile.
In 494 Pope Gelasius made a similar form of this festival as
the “Feast of the Purification.” In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius marked February 14th
as a celebration in the honor of St. Valentine.
Sources:
That is the origin of Valentine’s Day.
I will not tell you happy Valentine’s Day. I will tell you
that you have my greatest love and admiration from my heart and soul.
“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There
is no commandment greater than these.”
(Mark 12:31)
(Mark 12:31)
Keep each other in prayer.
God bless you all and keep you safely in His arms.
Flowers and chocolate don't mean anything. They would men much for to me on a random day of the year like not related to a holiday.
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