Ash Wednesday, 10th February 2016 (North Side, Anguilla) — Valentine’s Day is this Sunday, and I wonder how we will celebrate this day honouring love, sweethearts, the people in our lives who matter the most. Perhaps if we delve into the history of Saint Valentine we might find what this day is really all about. Yesterday I did an Internet search on Google linking to Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia site. In reading the background on Valentine’s Day, I learnt some interesting information.
Who was Saint Valentine?
There were many saints who were honoured with the name of Saint Valentine including the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, Hieromartyr Valentine who was Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni), and various Christian saints named Valentinus.
When is Valentine’s Day celebrated?
Valentine’s Day, also known as Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is a celebration observed on February 14th each year in many countries around the world. Although it is not a public holiday in most of them, Saint Valentine’s Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion as well as the Lutheran Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates Saint Valentine’s Day on July 6th and 30th.
How did Saint Valentine’s Day begin?
St. Valentine’s Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. Several martyrdom stories were invented for the various Valentines. A popular account of Saint Valentine of Rome states that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, he healed the daughter of the Jailer Asterius during his imprisonment. An embellished story states that before his execution he wrote her a letter signed “Your Valentine” as a farewell.
How did Saint Valentine’s Day evolve?
The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer, in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery and sending greeting cards (known as valentines). In Europe, Saint Valentine’s keys are given to lovers “as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart”, as well as to children in order to ward off epilepsy (called Saint Valentine’s Malady). Today, Valentine’s Day symbols include the heart-shape, doves, and figures of the winged Cupid.
Is there another Lovers’ Day?
The expression Dia dos Namorados is used in Portuguese speaking countries (e.g. Portugal, Brazil, Angola) and is translated as “Lovers’ Day”, “Day of the Enamoured” or “Boyfriends’/Girlfriends’ Day”. It is celebrated as a holiday for lovers on February 14th in Portugal and on June 12th in Brazil, which is the Saint Anthony’s Day Eve.
Who was Saint Anthony?
Anthony of Padua, known as Saint Anthony, died on 13th June 1231 in Padua, Italy. In addition to having been canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church, he is recognised as a general in the Brazilian Army and for blessing young couples with happy and prosperous marriages.
How is Dia dos Namorados celebrated?
Brazilians celebrate Dia dos Namorados similar to the way Valentine’s Day is celebrated in other parts of the world with gifts, romantic activities, decorations and festivities. Couples typically exchange romantic gifts such as chocolates or flowers, and they may also share a “date night”. Beautifying home decorations are a common part of the celebration. The day is festive with colourful street decorations, parades, carnivals and musical celebrations that include samba dancing and other folk music.
Dia dos Namorados is closely related to observances of Saint Anthony’s Day. Although Saint Anthony’s Day is celebrated in some countries on January 17th in association with Anthony the Great, Saint Anthony (of Padua)’s Day Eve is a day of religious observance for many in Brazil and his homeland of Portugal. Single women perform popular rituals, called simpatias, in order to find a good husband or boyfriend. In addition to prayer on the Eve, one might conceal a love letter in a pot of basil to pass to a prospective suitor.
Coincidentally, Dia dos Namorados is celebrated on the same day as Loving Day, the anniversary of the 1967 US Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia which made interracial marriage legal throughout the United States.
Why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day?
It seems that we get so caught up in the commercialism of this special day that we forget the real significance of it. We’re too focussed on taking our loved ones out to dine, buying chocolates and teddy bears, sending a bouquet of roses and giving greeting cards that the true meaning of L-O-V-E is forgotten.
So we must ask ourselves: “Why do we only have one day of the year celebrating love? Shouldn’t love be celebrated everyday that we have the breath of life?”
Unconditional love
The Holy Bible teaches us that the Creator loves us unconditionally and “God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son.” If the Almighty showers us with unconditional love all the time, why can’t we love all others in the same way? We souls in human form seem incapable of sustaining this type of love in our earthly relationships. Is it because we don’t love ourselves?
Loving Self
When I was younger, I used to listen to the song Waiting in Vain by the Honourable Robert Nesta “Bob” Marley. I always thought he was singing of waiting for the love of a woman or, in my case, the love of a man. Years later, I’ve come to realise that he really was speaking of loving Self. Without loving ourselves first, and foremost, we are incapable of truly loving others or of receiving the love of others. Maybe if we celebrated love everyday, and not just once a year on Saint Valentine’s Day, we would learn how to genuinely love ourselves as well as to love all of God’s creations.
Share More Love
We need to share more love, give more love and receive more love if we want to grow as a people and a nation. Let’s create a new conscious awareness on this Valentine’s Day and start celebrating love everyday of the year. Wake each morning and give thanks and praises to the Most High for another day of loving. Love yourself. Love all others. Go to sleep recognising that you had a loving day and are still breathing – thanks be to Jah.
Just share LOVE, LOVE AND AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF LOVE until love continually flows forth from the depths of our hearts. Let’s have a L-O-V-E Re-Vo-Lu-Tion. May all of our hearts be filled with an abundance of love this Valentine’s Day and everyday forward! Wishing each of you a very Happy Saint Valentine’s Day and God’s blessings too!
Kay M. Ferguson, who writes under the nom de plume Empress Extraordinaire, is a free-spirited writer who composes word sounds to inspire and uplift humanity. She is passionate about sharing her reflective contemplations on various subjects raising conscious awareness in the Anguilla community and globally. To link with Kay, send an email to anguillawriter@gmail.com or “i-nect” via social media at www.facebook.com/kaymferguson.
