MORNING TEASER: What does Valentine's Day mean to you?

 

Valentine’s Day is just a day away and with it, comes all forms of emotion. For some, the day brings joy and excitement, while for others, it comes with a lot of pressure to make the right plans, get the right gift and say the right thing. 

While for some others, it is a day where immorality and unwarranted sex comes to play, but are all these the reason for the celebration? Some people equate the day with showing love in a material way but true love is way more than this.

What is the origin of Valentine's Day customs and symbols? Does God care that we celebrate it? Though hearts and roses are red, retailers and business owners see the colour of MONEY when it comes to celebrating the day.

How did we get the day?

In 313 A.D., Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, legalized Christianity and ended Rome's persecution of Christians. In 380 A.D., Christianity becomes the OFFICIAL State religion of the Roman Empire. These actions not only enabled the teachings of Christianity to spread unhindered within the empire, it encouraged non-Christians to convert to the once-persecuted religion.

The pagans, however, who adopted Christianity as their religion did not entirely abandon the traditions and practices they held before their "conversion." One of these traditions brought into the church was the fertility celebration known as the Lupercalia, which eventually became the Valentine's Day.

"Yet the vestiges of superstition were not absolutely obliterated, and the festival of the Lupercalia, whose origin had preceded the foundation of Rome, was still celebrated under the reign of Anthemius."

"After the conversion of the Imperial city (Rome), the Christians still continued, in the month of February, the annual celebration of the Lupercalia . . . " Twenty-four years after the death of Emperor Anthemius, a "Christianized" form of the festival of Lupercalia was officially adopted by the church as a time to honor Saint Valentine.

"Early Christians were happier with the idea of a holiday (Valentine's) honoring the saint of romantic causes than with one recognizing a pagan festival. In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius named February 14 in honor of St. Valentine as the patron saint of lovers. "

Love does not need a set day to celebrate it. It should be shown all year round. We feel love for our parents, siblings, friends and neighbour, but are we really practicing this? Love is not a tangible thing; it is an energy that surrounds us every moment of every day. It is up to us to recognize and appreciate it.