Just a Thought: It is Valentine’s Day
by Steve Walker
Three weeks ago in my column, I
promoted today’s celebration of Valentine’s Day also known
as St. Valentine’s Day of the Feast of Saint Valentine. I pointed out
it is associated with romantic love and some of its historical significance.
Well now that it is actually Valentine’s Day let’s revisit it again without
rehashing what I wrote about back then.
According to historical data, the history of
Valentine's Day is obscure, and further clouded by various fanciful legends.
The holiday's roots are in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a
fertility celebration commemorated annually on February 15.
Pope Gelasius l recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day
circa 496, declaring February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day. What is confusing
is that there were three early Christian saints by that name. Who knew?
Which St. Valentine this early pope intended to honor remains a mystery:
according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. One was listed as a priest in
Rome, another a bishop in Terni, and of a third St. Valentine almost nothing is
known except that he met his end in Africa.
Rather astonishingly, all three Valentines were said to have been
martyred on Feb. 14. What a coincidence!
Most scholars believe that the St. Valentine of the holiday was a priest
who attracted the disfavor of Roman emperor Claudius ll around 270. At this
stage, the factual ends and the mythic begins.
According to one legend, Claudius
II had prohibited marriage for young men, claiming that bachelors made better
soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies but was
eventually apprehended by the Romans and put to death.
Another legend has it that Valentine, imprisoned by Claudius, fell in
love with the daughter of his jailer. Before he was executed, he allegedly sent
her a letter signed "from your Valentine."
Probably the most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not
focused on Eros (passionate love) but on Agape (Christian love): he was
martyred for refusing to renounce his religion.
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.
When I was Justice of
the Peace I performed a few weddings on St. Valentine’s Day. The most memorable
was one I did allude to in my last Valentine’s Day column. I performed it at a
flea market in the concession office on Fredericksburg Road where they
met, fell in love and exchanged vows. True love. That was definitely a unique
wedding.
As stated earlier,
Valentine’s Day was first associated with romantic love in
18th-century England. That is where it evolved into an occasion in which
lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, and sending
greeting cards known as "Valentines."
Those Valentine's Day
symbols are used today to include the heart-shaped, doves, and the figure of
the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way
to mass-produced greeting cards.
Valentine’s Day, many
couples, young and old, are expected to exchange vows, since it is the most
popular day in the year to get married. Whether or not you get married, it is
still a good idea to at least send someone you care about, a Valentine’s Day
Card.
And as always, what I write is
“Just a Thought.”
Steve Walker is a Vietnam Veteran and former Justice of the
Peace and Journalist.
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