The real meaning behind the celebration of valentines Day.

Story by Bintu Kuchando 

Valentine's Day is one of the most widely observed holidays worldwide, despite the fact that it has not been formally recognized as one. It turns out to be a period to revel in romance and affection. Over the years it has gained nicknames such as Val’s day, Chocolate day. Nevertheless, there are many versions of how this festival came to be, despite the fact that no one has been able to trace its precise beginnings.

CHRISTIAN ACCOUNT

According to one theory, Valentine was a priest who served in Rome in the third century. Emperor Claudius II forbade young men from getting married because he believed that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and kids. Realizing the injustice of the law, Valentine defied Claudius and proceeded to secretly marry young lovers. Upon learning about Valentine's deeds, Claudius gave the order to have him executed. Others assert that the actual founder of the feast was the bishop Saint Valentine of Terni. Outside of Rome, Claudius II also executed him by beheading.  The killings are believed to have happened on 14th February in two different years and these two heroes are honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration Valentine’s Day.

Another story has it that a prisoner named Valentine, who fell in love with a young girl who may have been his jailor's daughter and visited him while he was incarcerated, sent the first "valentine" message himself. She allegedly received a letter from him before he passed away, signed "From your Valentine," a phrase that is still in use today. Some claims have it that he restored the maiden’s sight which parked their love.

Despite the ambiguity surrounding the legends concerning Valentine, they all highlight his attractiveness as a sympathetic, valiant, and—most importantly—romantic figure.

PAGAN ACCOUNT

While some think that Valentine's Day is observed in the middle of February to mark the anniversary of Valentine's passing or burial, which most likely took place around the year 270, others assert that the Christian church may have chosen to do so in an exertion to "Christianize" the pagan festival of Lupercalia. Lupercalia was a fertility festival honoring the Roman founding fathers Romulus and Remus as well as Faunus, the god of agriculture, and was observed on the ides of February, or February 15.

To kick off the Lupercalia festival, an order of Roman priests, would assemble at a sacred cave where it was thought that a she-wolf, or lupa, cared for the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. . For purity and fertility, the priests would sacrifice a dog and a goat, respectively. The goat's skin would then be torn into strips, dipped in the blood sacrifice, and carried through the streets to be gently slapped against both ladies and crop fields. Additionally, young males were given the opportunity to participate in a lottery to choose potential partners by drawing ladies name from a jar. 

Although the pagan narrative seems to depict some darkness and blood, it also seems to depict love, camaraderie, and fertility.

ALSO

The Normans also observed Galatin's Day at the same time. Galatin was a term for "woman lover." Because they sound similar, it's possible that at some point that was mistaken for Saint Valentine's Day.

SPECIALTIES

The holiday got tastier over the years. Shakespeare and Chaucer romanticized it in their works, which helped it become more well-known in Britain and the rest of Europe. The custom eventually made it till today.

Valentine's Day cards frequently feature Cupid as a naked cherub shooting arrows of love at unwary couples. But as the Greek god of love, the Roman God Cupid has his origins in Greek mythology.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, when ideas of courtly love flourished in England, the day came to be connected with romantic love, possibly through an association with the "lovebirds" of early spring.

CONCLUISION

While the Christian and non-Christian tales are quite diverse from one another, they all tend to depict fertility, romantic connections, and love in a way that is comparable to what Valentine's Day stands for today, which makes love the ultimate reason for celebration.

Every celebration has a philosophy behind it; this ideology, rather than the event's origin, defines it. Valentine’s Day’s celebration idea in modern times is to demonstrate love. Couples communicate their love during this time in ways that are different from the norm, such as through gifts, vacations, or doing something special in a unique way. Others also take advantage of this chance to renew their vows of love or perhaps reignite their romance from the past.

REFERENCES

Catholic online

Country living
Frank Staff, The Valentine and Its Origins, 1969, Fredrick A. Praeger