The reasons why we celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14
Valentine's
Day is celebrated annually on February 14. Valentine's Day is not a public
holiday in any country, although it is an official feast day in the Anglican
Communion and the Lutheran Church.
According to
the legend, the story of this loving day is not filled with love. It is about a
confrontation between a saint valentine and a cruel king. Saint Valentine was a
priest in Rome and served during the third century. At that time there was a
cruel king named Claudius II.
Claudius
believed that Roman soldiers should be completely devoted to Rome and therefore
passed a law preventing them from marrying.
He believed
that by love or marriage, soldiers forget their goals and the married man is
always worried about what will happen to his family after his death. Due to
this concern, he is unable to pay full attention to the battle. Keeping this in
mind, King Claudius announced that no soldier of his kingdom will marry and
anyone who did not listen to him will be punished severely.
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St Valentine
began to marry these soldiers in secret Christian ceremonies and this was the
beginning of his reputation for believing in the importance of love. When King
Claudius got the news, he sentenced Saint Valentine to death.
Valentine
was found out and jailed for his crimes against Claudius. While imprisoned,
Valentine cared for his fellow prisoners and also his jailor's blind daughter.
Legend has it that Valentine cured the girl's blindness and that his final act
before being executed was to write her a love message signed ‘from your
Valentine'. Valentine was executed on 14 February in the year 270.
It wasn't
until more than 200 years later that 14 February was proclaimed St Valentine's
Day. By this time Rome had become Christian and the Catholic Church was
determined to stamp out any remaining paganism. A pagan fertility ritual was
held in February each year and the Pope abolished this festival and proclaimed
14 February Saint Valentine's Day, thus establishing this feast day on the
Catholic Calendar of Saints.
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Who Is
Cupid?
Cupid is
often portrayed on Valentine’s Day cards as a naked cherub launching arrows of
love at unsuspecting lovers. But the Roman God Cupid has his roots in Greek
mythology as the Greek god of love, Eros. Accounts of his birth vary; some say
he is the son of Nyx and Erebus; others, of Aphrodite and Ares; still others
suggest he is the son of Iris and Zephyrus or even Aphrodite and Zeus.
According to
the Greek Archaic poets, Eros was a handsome immortal played with the emotions
of Gods and men, using golden arrows to incite love and leaden ones to sow
aversion. It wasn’t until the Hellenistic period that he began to be portrayed
as the mischievous, chubby child he’d become on Valentine’s Day cards.
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You have to know that you can celebrate the day of love however you want, even if it's just through self-love.
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