Origin and History of VALENTINE'S DAY.....
KEEP EDUCATING YOURSELF and KNOW WHAT and WHY YOU DO THINGS IN YOUR
LIFE. Traditions are fun to follow as long as you know the "what and
why" of your actions...we as Believers in Christ are in the world but
not of it...make certain everything in your life is for the GLORY OF
GOD!
May the Love of God be shown through each day. REJOICE IN THE LORD!
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Posted here is some info about the origin and history of "Valentine's Day"....
Every year, the fourteenth day of the month of February has millions
across the world presenting their loved ones with candy, flowers,
chocolates and other lovely gifts. In many countries, restaurants and
eateries are seen to be filled with couples who are eager to celebrate
their relationship and the joy of their togetherness through delicious
cuisines. There hardly seems to be a young man or woman who is not keen
to make the most of the day.
image:
http://www.theholidayspot.com/valent…/…/valentines_gifts.gif
Gifts for Valentine's Day
The reason behind all of this is a kindly cleric named Valentine who died more than a thousand years ago.
It is not exactly known why the 14th of February is known as
Valentine's Day or if the noble Valentine really had any relation to
this day.
image:
http://www.theholidayspot.com/valenti…/…/saint_valentine.jpg
Saint Valentine The history of Valentine's Day is impossible to be
obtained from any archive and the veil of centuries gone by has made the
origin behind this day more difficult to trace. It is only some legends
that are our source for the history of Valentine's Day.
The
modern St. Valentine's Day celebrations are said to have been derived
from both ancient Christian and Roman tradition. As per one legend, the
holiday has originated from the ancient Roman festival of
Lupercalis/Lupercalia, a fertility celebration that used to observed
annually on February 15. But the rise of Christianity in Europe saw many
pagan holidays being renamed for and dedicated to the early Christian
martyrs. Lupercalia was no exception. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius turned
Lupercalia into a Christian feast day and set its observance a day
earlier, on February 14. He proclaimed February 14 to be the feast day
in honor of Saint Valentine, a Roman martyr who lived in the 3rd
century. It is this St. Valentine whom the modern Valentine's Day
honors.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there were at
least three early Christian saints by the name of Valentine. While one
was a priest in Rome, another was a bishop in Terni. Nothing is known
about the third St. Valentine except that he met his end in Africa.
Surprisingly, all three of them were said to have been martyred on 14th
February.
It is clear that Pope Gelasius intended to honor the
first of these three aforementioned men. Most scholars believe that this
St. Valentine was a priest who lived around 270 AD in Rome and
attracted the disfavor of Roman emperor Claudius II who ruled during
this time.
The story of St. Valentine has two different versions -
the Protestant and the Catholic one. Both versions agree upon Saint
Valentine being a bishop who held secret marriage ceremonies of soldiers
in opposition to Claudius II who had prohibited marriage for young men
and was executed by the latter. During the lifetime of Valentine, the
golden era of Roman empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality
administrators led to frequent civil strife. Education declined,
taxation increased and trade witnessed a very bad time. The Roman empire
faced crisis from all sides, from the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and
Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asia. The empire had grown too large
to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with
existing forces. Naturally, more and more capable men were required to
to be recruited as soldiers and officers to protect the nation from
takeover. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men
were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not
make good soldiers. He believed that marriage made the men weak. So he
issued an edict forbidding marriage to assure quality soldiers.
The ban on marriage was a great shock for the Romans. But they dared not voice their protest against the mighty emperor.
image:
http://www.theholidayspot.com/valentine/images/love_lock.jpg
The kindly bishop Valentine also realized the injustice of the decree.
He saw the trauma of young lovers who gave up all hopes of being united
in marriage. He planned to counter the monarch's orders in secrecy.
Whenever lovers thought of marrying, they went to Valentine who met them
afterwards in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of
matrimony. And thus he secretly performed many marriages for young
lovers. But such things cannot remain hidden for long. It was only a
matter of time before Claudius came to know of this "friend of lovers,"
and had him arrested.
While awaiting his sentence in prison,
Valentine was approached by his jailor, Asterius. It was said that
Valentine had some saintly abilities and one of them granted him the
power to heal people. Asterius had a blind daughter and knowing of the
miraculous powers of Valentine he requested the latter to restore the
sight of his blind daughter. The Catholic legend has it that Valentine
did this through the vehicle of his strong faith, a phenomenon refuted
by the Protestant version which agrees otherwise with the Catholic one.
Whatever the fact, it appears that Valentine in some way did succeed to
help Asterius' blind daughter.
image:
http://www.theholidayspot.com/valent…/images/claudius_II.jpg
Claudius IIWhen Claudius II met Valentine, he was said to have been
impressed by the dignity and conviction of the latter. However,
Valentine refused to agree with the emperor regarding the ban on
marriage. It is also said that the emperor tried to convert Valentine to
the Roman gods but was unsuccesful in his efforts. Valentine refused to
recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing
the consequences fully. This angered Claudius II who gave the order of
execution of Valentine.
Meanwhile, a deep friendship had been
formed between Valentine and Asterius' daughter. It caused great grief
to the young girl to hear of his friend's imminent death. It is said
that just before his execution, Valentine asked for a pen and paper from
his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine,"
a phrase that lived ever after. As per another legend, Valentine fell
in love with the daughter of his jailer during his imprisonment.
However, this legend is not given much importance by historians. The
most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not centered on
Eros (passionate love) but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred
for refusing to renounce his religion. Valentine is believed to have
been executed on February 14, 270 AD.
Thus 14th February became a
day for all lovers and Valentine became its Patron Saint. It began to
be annually observed by young Romans who offered handwritten greetings
of affection, known as Valentines, on this day to the women they
admired. With the coming of Christianity, the day came to be known as
St. Valentine's Day.
But it was only during the 14th century that
St. Valentine's Day became definitively associated with love. UCLA
medieval scholar Henry Ansgar Kelly, author of "Chaucer and the Cult of
Saint Valentine", credits Chaucer as the one who first linked St.
Valentine's Day with romance. In medieval France and England it was
believed that birds mated on February 14. Hence, Chaucer used the image
of birds as the symbol of lovers in poems dedicated to the day. In
Chaucer's "The Parliament of Fowls," the royal engagement, the mating
season of birds, and St. Valentine's Day are related:
"For this was on St. Valentine's Day, When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate."
By the Middle Ages, Valentine became as popular as to become one of the
most popular saints in England and France. 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. The
holiday evolved over the centuries. By the 18th century, gift-giving and
exchanging hand-made cards on Valentine's Day had become common in
England. Hand-made valentine cards made of lace, ribbons, and featuring
cupids and hearts began to be created on this day and handed over to the
man or woman one loved.
image:
http://www.theholidayspot.com/…/ima…/valentines_day_card.jpg
Valentine's day greeting cardThis tradition eventually spread to the
American colonies. It was not until the 1840s that Valentine's Day
greeting cards began to be commercially produced in the U.S. The first
American Valentine's Day greeting cards were created by Esther A.
Howlanda Mount Holyoke, a graduate and native of Worcester. Mass.
Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations
with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap". It was
when Howland began Valentine's cards in a large scale that the tradition
really caught on in the United States.
Today, Valentine's Day is
one of the major holidays in the U.S. and has become a booming
commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of
all cards sent each year are "valentine"s. The "valentines", as
Valentine's Day cards are better known as, are often designed with
hearts to symbolize love. The Valentine's Day card spread with
Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world. One of the
earliest valentines was sent in 1415 AD by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to
his wife during his imprisonment in the Tower of London. The card is now
preserved in the British Museum.
There may be doubts regarding
the actual identity of Valentine, but we know that he really existed
because archaeologists have recently unearthed a Roman catacomb and an
ancient church dedicated to a Saint Valentine.
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