Know some facts about SAINT VALENTINE DAY

Saint Valentine day, a day celebrated on every 14^th Feb each year, is a feast of saint Valentine celebrated across the whole world though it remains as a normal working day to many nations.

Origin: as quoted from Wikipedia, “ St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. The most popular martyrology associated with Saint Valentine was that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire; during his imprisonment, he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer Asterius.”

The day has always been associated with romantic love and chosen by many as a day of expressing love for each other by presenting flowers, confectionery, sending greeting cards etc. The day’s symbol is normally associated with heart shaped elements and gifts, also a symbol of love to many.

Love Shape

Historical legends and facts

It is believed that "St. Valentine was a priest near Rome in about the year 270 A.D, a time when the church was enduring great persecution. His ministry was to help the Christians to escape this persecution and to provide them the sacraments, such as marriage, which was outlawed by the Roman Empire at that time”

“February 14 is celebrated as St Valentine's Day in various Christian denominations; it has, for example, the rank of 'commemoration' in the calendar of saints in the Anglican Communion. In addition, the feast day of Saint Valentine is also given in the calendar of saints of the Lutheran Church. However, in the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feast day of Saint Valentine on February 14 was removed from the General Roman Calendar and relegated to particular (local or even national) calendars for the following reason: "Though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14The feast day is still celebrated in Balzan (Malta) where relics of the saint are claimed to be found, and also throughout the world by Traditionalist Catholics who follow the older, pre-Second Vatican Council calendar. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, St. Valentine's Day is celebrated on July 6th, in which Saint Valentine, the Roman presbyter, is honoured; furthermore, the Eastern Orthodox Church obsesrves the feast of Hieromartyr Valentine, Bishop of Interamna, on July 30th. 

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Valentine and English Language

Look at this nice poem:-

To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes,
And dupp'd the chamber-door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.

—William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5

There are many indications that some historical poets who shaped the modern English too have many poetry and literature work associated with this day too.

Nice and sweet poems as the one below:-

The rose is red, the violet's blue,
The honey's sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine:
The lot was cast and then I drew,
And Fortune sad it shou'd be you

Modern World and Valentine

As much as many people do not know the origins of this day, the day is associated with romantic love. My only issue with the day is do you have to simply show love this day and not any other day, or days of the year? I believe that love should be an all year expression that is not governed by days or seasons.

Being lovers according to me calls for more than showing love on a particular day. It is a life long commitment. Showing love on Valentine day is not wrong and I am not against it. What I am against is concentrating all your energies to express love for just one day and then forget that true love is not supposed to be governed by seasons, but reasons.

Happy Valentine to those who celebrate the day, to those who don’t, let those who celebrate do it in peace.

NB: All Italicized sections are from Wikipedia.

 

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