The White and Dark of Valentine

February is the Valentine's month, and Valentine's Day is around the corner. As you can see roses and chocolates are everywhere in every shop, people around the world believe that this is the best day to show their love to the most beloved one. Inside the common custom of giving sweet things, a bouquet of flower, gifts and a special dinner, there are more to know about the Valentine's day.

The Saint Valentine's Day

14th February is the day to celebrate love and affection. The celebration was begin by one or more Christian saints called Valentinus. The most well-known martyrology story is Saint Valentine was been imprisoned by the reason of performing the wedding for the soldier who were forbidden to marry. While waiting for the punishment, it was said that he is helping his jailor's blind daughter. Right after she healed, his punishment is around the corner and before his execution he wrote "for your Valentine" as a farewell to her (as the legend said). 

For Anglican Communion, Valentine's Day is the official feast day, as well as Lutheran Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. However, Eastern Orthodox celebrated it on July 6th and July 30th as the former date in honour of the Roman Presbyter Saint Valentine and the latter date in honour of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna.

Behind the culture of Valentine

"The rose is red, the violet's blue,

The honey's sweet, and so are you.

Thou art my love and I am thine;

I drew thee to my Valentine:

The lot was cast and then I drew,

And Fortune said it shou'd be you."

[Gammer Gurton's Garland-1784]

The 14th February suggests the sentimental value of love, often being described with the symbol of heart shape, doves and cupids. It produced the high-selling of greeting cards, wrapping papers, chocolate industries and flower mass-produced.

However, it is not exactly known that why 14th February become the Valentine's Day and it is almost impossible to obtain the real sources from any archives. It becomes more to legend than the fact. The modern Valentine's Day celebrations are said that it was been derived from the ancient culture of pre-Christians and Roman traditions. There were three men associated with the name 'Valentine' but the scholar believed that he was a priest who disfavour by Roman Emperor and lived around 250 AD in Rome. He was sentence to death by performing wedding and the sacrament of matrimony for young lovers in secret. So, the real Valentine's Day was existed in bad time; it was the era of lack of quality administrator, education declined, taxation increased and trade witnessed in pressure time. It was the counting black days of Roman Empire.

The Black Valentine turned white

Valentine's Day was existed from the story of hardship in marriage and love; the situation where matrimony is not allowed and all men were reserved for war as marriage is sealed to be the forbidden thing for them. Valentine's Day was more of remembering the terrible day of poor living in Roman Empire and so it was considered as the dark day of love until Geoffrey Chaucer linked the day with romantic love.

"For this was for Saint Valentine, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate."

It was firstly recorded in Parlement of Foules (1382) and the poem was written in honour to the first anniversary of engagement of King Richard II to Anne of Bohemina (Both of them were 15 years old when they getting married 8 months later). Since then, the tradition of 'Chaucer's love bird' had spread as there were no such kind of tradition before Chaucer. 

But actually, there were more poem about bird-mating in Saint Valentine's day in the same year; Otton de Grandson from Savoy, John Gower from England and a knight from Valencia. However, due to the difficulty of dating the medieval work, no one sure who is the first one released the idea of 'love bird' and turned the Valentine into 'white'.

The Roman tradition in Valentine

It was believed that there were part of Roman tradition in Valentine even some of people argued about it. According to World Book Encyclopedia (Valentine's Day: Vol.19, 1966, pp.205-206) states that the custom of Valentine's culture had no relation with the saints. It was the Lupercalia tradition who took in every February 15th in honoured for Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, as well for Pan, the god of nature. After the spread of Christianity, Pope Gelasius adopted the tradition into the Christian festivals (similar like Halloween celebration) and gives Christian meaning to pagan festival. Most of historians are disagreed about the identity of Saint Valentine. Cupid, the god of love was supposed from the pagan beliefs and all kind of various pagan gods (Eros, Juno Februata, Kama or Priapus) now replaced with the image of Christianity. 

The Saint Valentine's Feast day was derived from the tradition of the Feast of Lubercus. The Roman people were believed that the God Lubercus is helping them watching all shepherds and their flocks.

There were some crazy practices that happened in Lupercalia festival such as:

- It was the day men whipped the women and sacrificed dog and goat.

- It was the day for them to get naked and women got hit by men as they believe that   

  would make them fertile.

- It was the day for them to matchmaking the mate by drew the woman's name from a jar. 

  The couple would date during the festival or longer, if the match was right.

- It was the day for them to get lust, drunken and having a lover.

Valentine Nowadays

Today, Valentine's day is the day for young people enjoying their love and relationship with the theory of Christian's thought on love and ways to show the affection to their Valentine. This celebration had been civilized but it was essentially built upon lust of the eyes and not a true Christian holiday (Apostle John).

Valentine's day is the day for Christian people to show affection and according to Christian  Today (2009), it is believed that how God reminded nine singles of his love for them on Valentine. But according to COGwriter, this statement is more to dating service and viewed God as a Valentine.

As the Valentine's day is derived from Juno's festival and Juno is the Queen of Heaven (or Hera in Greek), it is also the holiday for the Queen of Heaven. But there is the statement from Jeremiah 7:18-20, NKJV:

"...the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. Do they provoke Me to anger?" says the LORD. "Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?" 

So, this is it; the white and dark of Valentine.

p/s: I don't celebrate Valentine. I love everyone who loves me-every day and every night, alive or dead. 

For more information

http://www.cogwriter.com/valentine.htm

http://www.theholidayspot.com/valentine/history_of_valentine.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133693152/the-dark-origins-of-valentines-day

#tmg2013