With all the hubub of Valentines Day, I decided to do a little research. You see, I realized that I don't actually know why Valentines Day exists. Sure, everyone has heard of Saint Valentine, but why is he important?
As I was researching the history of Valentines Day I came across two different stories. One takes place in Ancient Rome, when Emperor Claudius II outlawed young men from getting married in order to have a better army. A bishop in the Catholic Church named Valentine pitied those who couldn't marry or see their loved ones and so began to perform secret marriages. Of course, Valentine was discovered and the Emperor attempted to convert him from Christianity and into the worship of the Roman gods. Valentine, being the good old saint that he is, instead tried to convert Emperor Claudius to Christianity. Tragically, Valentine was sentenced to be executed.
The other story told about Valentine was that he was killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons. Jailed for his convictions, Valentine wrote love letters to a young girl, who possibly could be the jailers daughter. In one of his lasts letters he signed it "From your Valentine." As romantically, heroic as this tale is, we still don't know the truth behind Saint Valentine. In a way, I think the mystery of Valentines Day makes it more romantic, and perhaps more worthy of our attention.
Cupid, the little "baby-man" with the arrow, is also a significant figure on Valentines Day. Cupid was the son of Venus, the goddess of love from Roman mythology. The tale behind his arrow is that when it struck someone, he would fall in love.
In Ancient Rome, a celebration dedicated to fertility was observed from February 13 to the 15. Some believe that Valentines Day was chosen to be in the middle of February in an effort to "Christianize" the pagan festival. Other suggestions was that Valentines Day is on February 14th in an effort to commemorate the anniversary of Saint Valentine's death and burial.
Valentines Day wasn't seen as a romantic holiday until the fourteenth century, when Goeffrey Chaucer wrote a poem in honor of the first anniversary of the engagement of King richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia. The reason Chaucer wrote about Valentines Day in his poem was because the middle of February in England was the time for birds to be mating, signifying a time of love.
There are so many more stories that revolve around the mystery of Valentines Day. Valentines Day wasn't always a day for love, but this is what it has become. There are so many love stories out there; whether it's the love of a parent, the love of a child, or the love of a significant other, we all desire to be loved and accepted. My favorite love story is found in the Bible: God sent His Son down to earth, a humble baby, so that He could die for us and take away our sins. Because of God's love for us, we are able to spend eternity with Him in Heaven as long as we accept Him into our lives and let Him guide us.
Don't have a Valentine this year? Let Jesus be your Valentine.
Amen!
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