As far as I remember, it has been a tradition during February 14 to call it "day of love." This is the time where couples buy expensive gifts for their love ones or a simple flowers or candy or even a card of love letter will do. I remember when I was in elementary, every February 14 our teacher will gave us a task of making a love letter for our parents and our teacher will act as a mailman as she will deliever each of our letters, personally. I believe that Valentine's day is the day of love not until, I was given a task in school focusing on Valentine's day and the different types of love. For a long years, I had believed that Valentine's day is all about giving of flowers, candies or any beautiful and sweet things as a gift but if we go back to the past on the 3rd century A.D, the time of those wild and crazy Romans, there's a very dark secret about Valentine's day.
February 14 was named after St. Valentine but, do you know who is St. Valentine and what happen to him why February 14 was named after him? In the 3rd century A.D, Emperor Cladius II executed two men both named Valentine at February 14 but in different year. In honor of their martyrdom, the Catholics named February 14 after those two Valentine's. At first, Valentine's day is just a normal day for me but, when I found out the reason behind the name Valentine's day of February 14, I can't help it but to get sad about that fact.
February 14. They call this as the day of love but, why? What kind of secret lies why they called it the day of love? No one knows where is the exact place on the origin of this holiday but, a good place to start is in Rome. From February 13 to 15, the Romans had a kind of celebration named "feast of Lupercalia." Men will kill and sacrifice a goat and a dog after that, they will whipped women using the skin of those sacrificed animals. According to Noel Lenski, a historian at the University of Colorado at Boulder, during this celebration the Romans were all drunk and naked. Young women will lined up as the men will hit them one by one. They believe this can make the women fertile. The celebration also includes matchmaking lottery wherein young men will draw the name of women from a jar that will serve as their partner during the celebration or longer if the match is right.
As years passed, Pope Gelasius I in the 5th century combined St. Valentine and the celebration of Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals. Chaucer and Shakespeare helped in romanticizing the Valentine's day through their works so handmade paper cards become popular that age. Eventually, this tradition came up into this new generation permanently erasing its dark origin.
Its not bad to celebrate the Valentine's day by showing our love, and its really fine if they don't know its dark origin. The reason why I wrote this article is only to inform others the fact that I've stumbled on. Anyway, even if it's not Valentine's day we can still showcase pur love at any day. Its not required to have a lover during Valentine's day for we can still celebrate SAD or Single Awareness Day in February 14. The most important is that, we are happy and we know how to love. Below is a Bible verse about love.
1 Corinthians 13 (The Greatest Gift)
1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbals. 2And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and even though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,but have not love, it profits nothing. 4Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, think no evil; 6does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10But when that which is perfect has come, they that which is in part will be done away. 11When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I become a man, I put away childish things. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13And now abide faith, hope, love these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE.
www.npr.org./2011/02/14/133693152/the-dark-origins-of-valentines-day
