After a rainy January that seemed like it lasted only two weeks, we are finally in the second moth of the year. However, the month of February is significant for the celebration of lovers’ day which usually comes up on the 14th of the month.
Many people use that as an opportunity to exchange gifts between one another irrespective of the relationship involved. It is however sad that many people don’t even know the origin and meaning and significance of Valentine’s Day. It is not necessarily all about flowers, candy, red hearts and romance. There are a thousand and one myths that have been used to explain the origin of that day.
The first and most common explanation tells the real story of the man behind the holiday—St.Valentine. He was a Roman Priest at a time when there was an emperor called Claudias who persecuted the church at that particular time. He also had an edict that prohibited the marriage of young people.
This was based on the hypothesis that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers because married soldiers might be afraid of what might happen to them or their wives or families if they died. However the church thought that marriage was very sacred between one man and one woman and that it was to be encouraged. And so it immediately presented the problem to the Christian church of what to do about this. The idea of encouraging them to marry within the Christian church was what Valentine was about. And he secretly married them because of the edict.
Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against command of Emperor Claudius the second. There are legends surrounding Valentine’s actions while in prison. One of the men who were to judge him in line with the Roman law at the time was a man called Asterius, whose daughter was blind.
He was supposed to have prayed with and healed the young girl with such astonishing effect that Asterius himself became Christian as a result. In the year 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to a three part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally decapitation all because of his stand for Christian marriage. The story goes that the last words he wrote were in a note to Asterius’ daughter. He inspired today’s romantic missives by signing it, “from your Valentine.”
Since then, February 14th has been set aside every year for the celebration of unconditional love. It has been set aside for the celebration of lovers. However, this show of love should not be restricted to those in sexual relationships alone, but to everybody around. St Valentine was not only celebrated because he loved love, he was also celebrated because of his selflessness and love for love. Show love to someone around you today. It doesn’t have to be someone you are in a romantic relationship with.
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