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Celebrating Valentine's Day
History of Valentine's Day
Who is Valentine?
The world celebrates Feb. 14 as Valentine's Day. It
is also celebrated as lover’s day by exchanging candies, flowers and
gifts between couples in love. It was originated in the 5th century
in Rome as a tribute to St. Valentine, a Catholic bishop. The
history of Valentine's Day remains fuzzy and there are different
stories about who actually Valentine was.
A group of historians suggest that Valentine was a
priest in Rome serving under the reign of Emperor Claudius II during
the third century, approximately 270 AD. During this period, the
Emperor Claudius II prohibited marriage for young men, saying that
the unmarried soldiers are more capable. But Valentine secretly
continued to perform marriage ceremonies, but was finally
apprehended by the Claude and he ordered to put him to death. So as
a regard for him, February 14 is celebrated as Valentine’s Day.
What did the Church curb the
celebration of Lupercalia festival?
However, some believe that the Valentine's Day
celebration was an effort made by the Church to prevent the
celebration of pagan Lupercalia festival which was held on February
15. The celebration featured a lottery in which every young man will
pick out a girl's name from the jar in random and they would become
partners until the festival gets over. Sometimes this pairing lasted
for an entire year, and often, they fall in love and marry later.
In order to prevent this erotic festivity, the
pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome encouraged the
participants to substitute the names of saints. Then, for the next
twelve months, the participants were to follow the principles
represented by the saint whom they had chosen. Pope Gelasius
announced Feb. 14 as Valentine's Day in the year around 498 AD. The
festival of Lupercalia was considered illegal and non-Christian. As
a result many of the young Roman men were not too pleased with this
new rule.
Thus the early Christians priests tried to modulate
the sexual nature of Lupercalia by turning the "festival into a
ceremony of love. Instead of the pagan god Lupercus, the Church
looked for a saint of love as a substitute. They considered
Valentine as an appropriate choice who had been beheaded by Emperor
Claudius, in the year 270.
Do you know the story behind the
Saint Valentine?
During the reign of Emperor Claudius II, Rome was
involved in many bloody and unnecessary battles. At that time
Claudius found difficulty in getting soldiers to join his military
leagues. He felt that Roman men did not want to leave their loves or
families. As a result he banned marriage from his empire. But
Valentine secretly continued to perform marriage to young men and
women who came to him. When Claudius found out Valentine’s activity,
he was imprisoned and sentenced to death for secretly conducting
several marriages.
During his days of imprisonment Valentine fell in
love with the blind daughter of his jailer. His great love
miraculously cured her blindness before his death. Before he was
taken to his death, he signed a farewell message to her, "From your
Valentine". The phrase has been used on his day ever since.
Thus the Church has chosen the single Valentine
against the pagan goddess Juno. As Valentine was martyred on
February 14, the Church could also prevent the celebration of
Lupercalia on February 15. Valentine was a pure man in the art of
love. To make the Holy saint more attractive for fans, the Church
may have overstated his life. The records no longer exist since it
happened long ago.
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