February 14, 2021
St. Valentine
Timothy Birdnow
On this the feast of St. Valentine it would do well to remember that Valentine's Day is not just a celebration of romantic love but actually celebrates a real saint who gave his life for Christ.
Valentine of Terni was a third century martyr executed by the Romans for violating an edict by Emperor Claudius II Gothicus who ordered that young men not be permitted to marry so they could be conscripted for war. Valentine defied the order, marrying the young men against the imperial edict. As a result he was arrested and sentenced to death by a variety of means, including stoning and decapitation.
Another story says Valentine was imprisoned and became friendly with his Roman jailer, who brought his daughter to be taught to read by the educated priest. Some accounts say Valentine miraculously healed the young girl from blindness. At any rate a fast friendship formed between the two and Valentine wrote her letters from his prison cell signed "your Valentine". In the end he still wound up headless.
At any rate, there is a good deal of ambiguity about St. Valentine,enough so that the Church took his feast out of the calender.
At the end of the fifth century Pope Gelasius I forbade the pagan Roman festival of Lupercalia. Lupercalia was a rite of spring celebrated in mid February and featured some rather saucy activities, including sexual coupling by lottery. The Catholic Church was quite good at co-opting popular pagan festivals, and did so here replacing the Lupercalia with the feast of St. Valentine.
But this didn't really catch on as a major holiday of love until the 14th century when written valentine's cards began to appear. The practice caught on and has been with us ever since. Cupid, the Roman god of love, was added shortly thereafter.
Let us not forget that there actually was a real Valentine (probably more than one, actually) who really did give his life for his faith. This is more than just a holiday for Hallmark, Hershey, and hydrangea growers.
At any rate have a happy Valentine's Day!
On this the feast of St. Valentine it would do well to remember that Valentine's Day is not just a celebration of romantic love but actually celebrates a real saint who gave his life for Christ.
Valentine of Terni was a third century martyr executed by the Romans for violating an edict by Emperor Claudius II Gothicus who ordered that young men not be permitted to marry so they could be conscripted for war. Valentine defied the order, marrying the young men against the imperial edict. As a result he was arrested and sentenced to death by a variety of means, including stoning and decapitation.
Another story says Valentine was imprisoned and became friendly with his Roman jailer, who brought his daughter to be taught to read by the educated priest. Some accounts say Valentine miraculously healed the young girl from blindness. At any rate a fast friendship formed between the two and Valentine wrote her letters from his prison cell signed "your Valentine". In the end he still wound up headless.
At any rate, there is a good deal of ambiguity about St. Valentine,enough so that the Church took his feast out of the calender.
At the end of the fifth century Pope Gelasius I forbade the pagan Roman festival of Lupercalia. Lupercalia was a rite of spring celebrated in mid February and featured some rather saucy activities, including sexual coupling by lottery. The Catholic Church was quite good at co-opting popular pagan festivals, and did so here replacing the Lupercalia with the feast of St. Valentine.
But this didn't really catch on as a major holiday of love until the 14th century when written valentine's cards began to appear. The practice caught on and has been with us ever since. Cupid, the Roman god of love, was added shortly thereafter.
Let us not forget that there actually was a real Valentine (probably more than one, actually) who really did give his life for his faith. This is more than just a holiday for Hallmark, Hershey, and hydrangea growers.
At any rate have a happy Valentine's Day!
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
10:50 AM
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