History Of Valentine's day
Everyyear, the fourteenth day of the month of February has millions acrossthe world presenting their loved ones with candy, flowers, chocolatesand other lovely gifts. In many countries, restaurants and eateries areseen to be filled with couples who are eager to celebrate theirrelationship and the joy of their togetherness through deliciouscuisines. There hardly seems to be a young man or woman who is not keento make the most of the day.
The reason behind all of this is a kindly cleric named Valentine who died more than a thousand years ago.
Itis not exactly known why the 14th of February is known as Valentine'sDay or if the noble Valentine really had any relation to this day. Thehistory of Valentine's Day is impossible to be obtained from anyarchive and the veil of centuries gone by has made the origin behindthis day more difficult to trace. It is only some legends that are oursource for the history of Valentine's Day.
The modern St.Valentine's Day celebrations are said to have been derived from bothancient Christian and Roman tradition. As per one legend, the holidayhas originated from the ancient Roman festival ofLupercalis/Lupercalia, a fertility celebration that used to observedannually on February 15. But the rise of Christianity in Europe sawmany pagan holidays being renamed for and dedicated to the earlyChristian martyrs. Lupercalia was no exception. In 496 AD, PopeGelasius turned Lupercalia into a Christian feast day and set itsobservance a day earlier, on February 14. He proclaimed February 14 tobe the feast day in honor of Saint Valentine, a Roman martyr who livedin the 3rd century. It is this St. Valentine whom the modernValentine's Day honors.
Accordingto the Catholic Encyclopedia, there were at least three early Christiansaints by the name of Valentine. While one was a priest in Rome,another was a bishop in Terni. Nothing is known about the third St.Valentine except that he met his end in Africa. Surprisingly, all threeof them were said to have been martyred on 14th February.
Itis clear that Pope Gelasius intended to honor the first of these threeaforementioned men. Most scholars believe that this St. Valentine was apriest who lived around 270 AD in Rome and attracted the disfavor ofRoman emperor Claudius II who ruled during this time.
Thestory of St. Valentine has two different versions - the Protestant andthe Catholic one. Both versions agree upon Saint Valentine being abishop who held secret marriage ceremonies of soldiers in opposition toClaudius II who had prohibited marriage for young men and was executedby the latter. During the lifetime of Valentine, the golden era ofRoman empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality administratorsled to frequent civil strife. Education declined, taxation increasedand trade witnessed a very bad time. The Roman empire faced crisis fromall sides, from the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians fromNorthern Europe and Asia. The empire had grown too large to be shieldedfrom external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces.Naturally, more and more capable men were required to to be recruitedas soldiers and officers to protect the nation from takeover. WhenClaudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were moreemotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make goodsoldiers. He believed that marriage made the men weak. So he issued anedict forbidding marriage to assure quality soldiers.
Theban on marriage was a great shock for the Romans. But they dared notvoice their protest against the mighty emperor. The kindly bishopValentine also realized the injustice of the decree. He saw the traumaof young lovers who gave up all hopes of being united in marriage. Heplanned to counter the monarch's orders in secrecy. Whenever loversthought of marrying, they went to Valentine who met them afterwards ina secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. And thushe secretly performed many marriages for young lovers. But such thingscannot remain hidden for long. It was only a matter of time beforeClaudius came to know of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested.
Whileawaiting his sentence in prison, Valentine was approached by hisjailor, Asterius. It was said that Valentine had some saintly abilitiesand one of them granted him the power to heal people. Asterius had ablind daughter and knowing of the miraculous powers of Valentine herequested the latter to restore the sight of his blind daughter. TheCatholic legend has it that Valentine did this through the vehicle ofhis strong faith, a phenomenon refuted by the Protestant version whichagrees otherwise with the Catholic one. Whatever the fact, it appearsthat Valentine in some way did succeed to help Asterius' blinddaughter.
WhenClaudius II met Valentine, he was said to have been impressed by thedignity and conviction of the latter. However, Valentine refused toagree with the emperor regarding the ban on marriage. It is also saidthat the emperor tried to convert Valentine to the Roman gods but wasunsuccesful in his efforts. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Godsand even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequencesfully. This angered Claudius II who gave the order of execution ofValentine.
Meanwhile,a deep friendship had been formed between Valentine and Asterius'daughter. It caused great grief to the young girl to hear of hisfriend's imminent death. It is said that just before his execution,Valentine asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed afarewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived everafter. As per another legend, Valentine fell in love with the daughterof his jailer during his imprisonment. However, this legend is notgiven much importance by historians. The most plausible storysurrounding St. Valentine is one not centered on Eros (passionate love)but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renouncehis religion. Valentine is believed to have been executed on February14, 270 AD.
Thus 14th February became a day for all lovers andValentine became its Patron Saint. It began to be annually observed byyoung Romans who offered handwritten greetings of affection, known asValentines, on this day to the women they admired. With the coming ofChristianity, the day came to be known as St. Valentine's Day.
Butit was only during the 14th century that St. Valentine's Day becamedefinitively associated with love. UCLA medieval scholar Henry AnsgarKelly, author of "Chaucer and the Cult of Saint Valentine", creditsChaucer as the one who first linked St. Valentine's Day with romance.In medieval France and England it was believed that birds mated onFebruary 14. Hence, Chaucer used the image of birds as the symbol oflovers in poems dedicated to the day. In Chaucer's "The Parliament ofFowls," the royal engagement, the mating season of birds, and St.Valentine's Day are related:
"For this was on St. Valentine's Day, When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate."
Bythe Middle Ages, Valentine became as popular as to become one of themost popular saints in England and France. Despite attempts by theChristian church to sanctify the holiday, the association ofValentine’s Day with romance and courtship continued through the MiddleAges. The holiday evolved over the centuries. By the 18th century,gift-giving and exchanging hand-made cards on Valentine's Day hadbecome common in England. Hand-made valentine cards made of lace,ribbons, and featuring cupids and hearts began to be created on thisday and handed over to the man or woman one loved. Thistradition eventually spread to the American colonies. It was not untilthe 1840s that Valentine's Day greeting cards began to be commerciallyproduced in the U.S. The first American Valentine's Day greeting cardswere created by Esther A. Howlanda Mount Holyoke, a graduate and nativeof Worcester. Mass. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, madeelaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures knownas "scrap". It was when Howland began Valentine's cards in a largescale that the tradition really caught on in the United States.
Today,Valentine's Day is one of the major holidays in the U.S. and has becomea booming commercial success. According to the Greeting CardAssociation, 25% of all cards sent each year are "valentine"s. The"valentines", as Valentine's Day cards are better known as, are oftendesigned with hearts to symbolize love. The Valentine's Day card spreadwith Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world. One of theearliest valentines was sent in 1415 AD by Charles, Duke of Orleans, tohis wife during his imprisonment in the Tower of London. The card isnow preserved in the British Museum.
There may be doubtsregarding the actual identity of Valentine, but we know that he reallyexisted because archaeologists have recently unearthed a Roman catacomband an ancient church dedicated to a Saint Valentine.
