Many people in Dominica and several other countries all over the world, are today observing St. Valentine’s Day, sending messages of love, sending gifts and generally buying presents and generally making the day, special in some romantic way, for their love partners.
St. Valentine’s Day has roots in several different legends that have found their way to us through the ages. One of the earliest popular symbols of the Valentine’s day is Cupid, the Roman god of love, who is represented by the image of a young boy with bow and arrow. Several theories surround the history of Valentine’s Day.
Was There a Real Valentine?
Three hundred years after the death of Jesus Christ, the Roman emperors still demanded that everyone believe in the Roman gods. Valentine, a Christian priest, had been thrown in prison for his teachings. On February 14, Valentine was beheaded, not only because he was a Christian, but also because he had performed a miracle. He supposedly cured the jailer’s daughter of her blindness. The night before he was executed, he wrote the jailer’s daughter a farewell letter, signing it “From Your Valentine.” Another legend tells us that this same Valentine, well-loved by all, received notes to his jail cell from children and friends who missed him.
Bishop Valentine?
Another Valentine was an Italian bishop who lived at about the same time, AD 200. He was imprisoned because he secretly married couples, contrary to the laws of the Roman emperor. Some legends say he was burned at the stake.
Feast of Lupercalia
The ancient Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia, a spring festival, on the 15th of February, held in honor of a goddess. Young men randomly chose the name of a young girl to escort to the festivities. With the introduction of Christianity, the holiday moved to the 14th of February. The Christians had come to celebrate February 14 as the saint day that celebrated the several early Christian martyrs named Valentine.
Choosing a Sweetheart on Valentine’s Day
The custom of choosing a sweetheart on this date spread through Europe in the Middle Ages, and then to the early American colonies. Throughout the ages, people also believed that birds picked their mates on February 14!
In AD 496 Pope Gelasius I declared February 14 as “Valentine’s Day”. Although it’s not an official holiday, most people observe this day.
Whatever the odd mixture of origins, St Valentine’s Day is now a day for sweethearts. It is the day that you show your friend or loved one that you care. You can send candy to someone you think is special. Or you can send roses, the flower of love. Most people send “valentine” a greeting card named after the notes that St Valentine received in jail.
Faithful Day!
So what would you say if teachers come together and have a lunch for their student, I was so amaze on Friday when I pass by a certain pre school and see how the teachers and parents come together to do all this for their children and student, I really was taken back. A parent say it brought tears to her eyes when she saw it the student was well taken care off, all though everyday they are taking care of them.hats off to the teachers I don;t know their names. DNO you shud try to get the pics of this
Love any day. God is Love.
Valentine day have a lot of hypocrites. I we really want to have a real Valentine Day, the best thing we should do is to volunteer in the hospitals, schools, nursing homes, soup kitchens. This day we just make businesses richer, and generally they just have a false love. We should have Valentine every day to our love ones, because we might not see the other day.
Some people are involved in so many holidays and don’t even know the true mining of them. We need to research all public holidays to see what impact the had on the poor, certain races, etc.
Give me love everyday not one day out of 365 day.
It is so sad that all of those commercialized events can be observed and spoken about in the name of Christianity–but the events of the Bible which are not commercialized remain closed on a dusty shelve–if there is even a Bible on that shelf of the house
One of my face book friends, who claims to be a Christian, wrote a few days ago–“Love yourself, for it is the month of February” Say what!!!!! Well I ask that friend what do I do when February is gone, eh?
Love is from our God of Spirit, Truth, and Holiness; Love has to be the “blue print” of our attitude and conducts in this world day in and day out–even more so for those who claim to belong to God, for not all people, in this world, are His chosen people–as Jesus said: “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” John 6
For example, if you ask most Christians of the churches, they will tell you that they do not know what the “Day of Pentecost” is about–many Churches do not even observe that Day–that is one of the good things about the Roman Catholic Church, for their “congregation” knows about the “Day of Pentecost”–at least some of it.
But no event–except the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ– can surpass that event which is recorded in the Bible at the Book of Acts, chapter 2. In fact that was the basic reason for the coming of God, in flesh and bones, to die for the sake of the world.
The Day of Pentecost is a celebration which God ordained throughout Ancient Israel; it was on that Day that Jesus reigned the Holy Spirit on His disciples, 10 days after His ascension into heaven–50 days after His resurrection from the dead, the exact time that it was celebrated in ancient Israel, after the observance of the Passover. We know that Jesus died during the Passover week.
Therefore, in the New Testament that Day is recognized as the coming of “Holy Spirit” –the New Covenant with His people through His Prophet Jeremiah–God’s promise to write His Laws on the Heart of His people and put those laws in their Minds; as He decided to teach us to know Him and to practice the Life of Love–the only form of Life in mankind–through his soul.
Without the indwelling of Holy Spirit in a person, he and she does not have the Life of Jesus Christ. And without His presence in a Church, that congregation is no difference than a “social club” in operation.
But who cares about those truths, where human beings are concerned? Christians or not, man continues to remain in darkness and lost, focused on the things of the world–the things of death, which glitters like gold but there is nothing like gold in the formation or production of death.
There is not difference in that Valentines Day contents that is written above–Love is of the Spirit of God, the Lord; and that attitude and conduct belongs in our every minute of the day, throughout our existence in this world. Love has to be the way of Life, otherwise we have no Life in us.
I celebrate Valentine’s Day. Any excuse for the expression of love is good. It should be everyday, but even one day is better than none.”God is Love”. Let’s love out spouses, children, relatives even more. It’s a good thing because there is too much hatred in the world. “Beloved, let us love one another”.
So basically, Valentines day is just rubbish. Thank you for clearing that up.
@Anonymous February 14, 2014
Hehehehehehehehehe! Anonymous you are funny; that is my way of laughing out loud. But I sincerely agree with your sentiment above. I too, am glad it is all cleared up–good heavens!
Support u 100%
I celebrate Valentine Day with my better half every day. But we are so media driven in this era that we get carried away by the hype and commercialization of those so called occasions, some of us has lost the true meaning of those so called occasions in my opinion.
hmm
I do not celebrate Valentine’s Day because I believe that we should show our friends and love ones that we care everyday and not just 1 day out 365 days in the year.
Save the money for the roses and chocolate and spend a few hours with the people you love and care about just talking to them and finding out what’s going on with them. Trust me you might be surprised to hear of their daily struggles.
happy Valentine’s day DNO
There is no love in this day people love u for what they can get from u what a shame