Valentine’s Day Through the Ages
We celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th each year. We exchange candy, flowers, cards, and gifts between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. As is often the case, we participate but don’t know why. Let’s consider this ancient Christian and the applications we can make for our lives in the twenty-first century.
The history of Valentine’s Day is as complex as the feelings it commemorates. Most historians trace its origins back to ancient Rome, specifically to a feast called Lupercalia, which took place in mid-February. This festival focused on fertility and the coming of spring. Young men drew women's names from a jar during the festivity and paired up for the holiday's duration. Many couples stayed together until the next festival, and some got married. It was a time of violent and immoral celebration, but what does that have to do with Saint Valentine, you might ask?
The shift from a pagan festival to a day associated with love is believed to be linked to the martyrdom of Saint Valentine, a Christian clergyman in the third century. There are at least three possibilities of who may have been the basis for the holiday, all with the same name. According to Dr. William Federer, during its first three centuries, Christianity endured at least ten Roman persecutions. The emperors threw Christians to the lions, boiled them alive, had their tongues cut out, and more.
Roman soldiers broke into Christian meetings, and in addition to physically harming the believers, they destroyed their early documents, making it challenging to piece together the events of those years. Later writings by Eusebius in the fourth century and others in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries indicate Saint Valentine was either a priest in Rome or a bishop in Terni, a town in central Italy.
After the Cyprian plague depleted the Roman army, Emperor Claudius II needed more soldiers to fight the invading Goths. He believed that men fought better if they were unmarried, so he banned traditional marriage in the military. Saint Valentine secretly married couples, believing in the sanctity of love as ordained by God. In addition, Claudius intended to unify the Romans and implemented the worship of the previous Caesar, causing additional turmoil for the Christians in the empire. If they refused to worship Gallienus, they were executed.
In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NKJV), we find a poignant description of love: “4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Valentine’s actions embodied this spirit of love, putting couples' needs and desires above the emperor's decree.
Emperor Claudius demanded that Christians worship the Caesars and pagan idols. Some compromised and went through the motions of idolatrous worship. Like the three Hebrew boys who refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, others chose to die rather than obey an ungodly decree. Saint Valentine, whose name is derived from the word “valor,” refused to cooperate with the decree. The Romans arrested this man of valor and dragged him before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to die.
While awaiting execution, he preached to guards and other prisoners. His jailer, Asterius, asked Saint Valentine to pray for his blind daughter. When she miraculously regained her sight, the jailer converted and was baptized, along with his entire family. Before his execution, Saint Valentine wrote a note to the jailer's daughter, encouraging her in the faith, signing it, "from your Valentine." Valentine was beaten with clubs and stones, and when that failed to kill him, he was beheaded on FEBRUARY 14, 269 A.D.
After Valentine was executed, he became a symbol of true love and sacrifice, and his feast day was established on February 14. Over time, this day evolved—Christian leaders began merging Valentine's Day with Lupercalia, transforming it into a day that celebrates not just romantic love but agape, the selfless love we are called to exhibit as Christians.
Valentine and the other Christian martyrs went to their deaths to honor God, serve as courageous witnesses to the masses, and receive a unique eternal reward. They understood that God loved them despite their immediate circumstances, and they returned love to Him in their sacrificial steadfastness. Valentine and the other martyrs knew the sentiments of 1 John 4:18-19 (ESV):
18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.
Several notable events have occurred on February 14th over the years. A famous one was the 1929 prohibition-era “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre,” in which Al Capone's Chicago mob murdered seven members of Bugs Moran's Irish gang. The massacre has political implications today. Al Capone's hitman, Frank Nitti, was accompanied by the young Saul Alinsky, who later incorporated gang tactics into his political technique of "community organizing." Alinsky wrote “Rules for Radicals” in1971, influencing many of our current leftist politicians. In it, he said: "The organizer must first rub raw the resentments of the people of the community ... fan the latent hostilities of many of the people to the point of overt expression."
Let us remember that love is more than a feeling. It is an action, as Saint Valentine demonstrated. Acts of kindness, words of affirmation, and selfless service embody what love truly is and reflect Christ's teachings to love God and our neighbors. As you consider how to celebrate this Valentine's Day, think beyond the surface. Engage in acts of love that promote unity and kindness, allowing the spirit of Valentine's Day to touch your loved ones and those around you.
Keep The Light of Living God’s Love Burning!
GodNAmerica.com
