Controversies have risen every year about whether it
is right to celebrate Valentine’s day or not. People have come up with theories
explaining how cultic it is, and others have come up with stories explaining
why the 14th of February is a day of Romance. Instead of such
controversies, why don’t we consider the history of this Valentine and why
people celebrate Valentine’s day? Why do you celebrate Valentine’s day? Because
you’re in love or because you believe it is a day of romance? Let’s see.
Who is Saint Valentine?
Well, it is astonishing that even those who gave out
the ‘saint’ title have no clear knowledge of who exactly the Valentine is.
According to the Catholic encyclopedia, there are at least three early Christian
saints by that name. The first was a priest, another was a bishop and the third
is not well-known of, just that he met his end in Africa. It is funny that all
of them were killed on 14th February.
It is believed that the one after whom this day was
named was a priest, who was killed by the Roman emperor Claudius II around 270
AD. According to the legend, Claudius II had prohibited marriages for young
men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. However, the priest
Valentine went on conducting marriages secretly and when Claudius II found out,
he was sent to prison. At the prison, Valentine fell in love with the daughter
of his jailer and before he was executed, he sent a letter to her and signed
it, ‘from your valentine’. That’s all that history has about Valentine, or
Saint Valentine.
What’s the origin of
Valentine’s day?
It is true that the history of Valentine’s day is
obscure, but from what can be understood, it has its roots in an ancient Roman
pagan festival. This was the festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration
commemorated annually on February 15th. With the rise of
Christianity in the ancient Rome, Pope Gelasius I recast this pagan festival as
a Christian feast day, declaring February 14th to be St. Valentine’s
day. That is how February 14th became Valentine’s day, but it looks
like that day has nothing to do with romance, right?
Why do people associate Valentine’s day with love?
In 1381, a
poet known as Geoffrey Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement
between
 |
| The poet Geoffrey Chaucer |
“For this was on St.
Valentine’s day
When every fowl cometh there
to choose his mate”
It is said
that Chaucer was such a great poet that would always leave people amazed with
his poems. In the current world, you can compare it to such popular artists as Chris Brown-US and Diamond in East Africa; people normally like to copy such people and would always use some of the words they use in their songs. After the poem ‘Parliament of fowls’ was written, people started to
associate Valentine’s day with love and romance. History has it that before that
poem, Valentine’s day was not celebrated as a love day, or as a day of romance.
In 1969, the Catholic Church revised its
liturgical calendar, removing the feast days of saints whose historical origins
were questionable. St. Valentine was one of the casualties.
Is it wrong or right?
Whether or
not Valentine’s day is wrong or right depends on what you perceive to be wrong
or what to you is right. It is clear that it has nothing to do with cultism, as
most people say. It’s association with love can be attributed to Chaucer’s
poem. Therefore, in my own opinion, Valentine’s
day is not wrong, but that doesn’t mean it is right; that depends on you.
Download this article at
0 comments :
Post a Comment