So, today I decided to write about the origins of the popular holiday known as Valentine's Day since the holiday is coming up this week. There probably aren't many people out in the world that actually know the true origins of the holiday of love, as most probably remain in the dark, thinking that it is just a day to give out love notes, flowers and chocolates to the people that they care most about. However, the true story, like many holidays, is not exactly what most believe it to be.
In reality, the holiday started in order to commemorate a martyr that died centuries before our time, around the year 278 AD on February 14th. Valentine (or Valentinus in Latin, a name derived from the word valens, meaning worthy, strong or powerful) a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II. The emperor needed a strong army for his violent campaigns across the land but seemed to have a hard time getting soldiers to join in the fight. He believed that this hesitation was rooted in the soldiers' dedication to their wives and children over their duty to their emperor. In retaliation, Emperor Claudius II banned all any Romans from getting engaged or married.
The priest, Valentine, defied the emperor and kept marrying young Christian couples in secret. Once Emperor Claudius II found out about Valentine's defiance of the law and unwillingness to renounce his faith, the young priest was arrested and sentenced to death by being beaten with clubs. When this was unsuccessful in killing Valentine (I have no clue how THAT could be unsuccessful), he was then ordered to be beheaded. This happened on or around February 14th, 270 AD.
There are legends that exist which say that St. Valentine, while incarcerated, befriended the jailer's blind daughter and healed her blindness before being executed. It also says that on the day before his death, he left her a farewell note signed, "From Your Valentine."
Because Valentine risked his life to protect Christians and was willing to be martyred for his faith, he was honored by the Church by being made a saint posthumously (after his death).
No one REALLY knows exactly how the feast day became remembered as a day of love, but some historians think that the pagan festival of love and fertility, the Feast of Lupercalia, was celebrated around the same time of the year as St. Valentine's feast day, from February 13th through the 15th.
In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia, and he declared that February 14 be celebrated as St. Valentine's Day exclusively, almost 200 years after the martyr's death.
As the centuries passed by, the day became remembered more and more by the exchange of love messages, cards and gifts to celebrate love for one another. This probably resulted from remembering how St. Valentine cared for young couples in love and helped them marry in secret.
However it came about, the holiday has now evolved from a Catholic feast day to honor a brave martyr into a day to show a loved one how much you care for them through the exchange of gifts and love notes, much like the note in the legends that was given to the jailer's daughter before the saint's execution, signed: "From Your Valentine."
No comments:
Post a Comment