DID you ever send or receive a valentine, a
card or a gift? In many countries it is the custom to send them out for
February 14, Valentine Day. It is supposed to be a day celebrated by
lovers. But how did the custom start?
Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase
and Fable says: “Valentine, St. A priest of Rome who was
imprisoned for succouring persecuted Christians. He became a convert and, . . .
he was clubbed to death. His day is 14 February. . .
“The ancient custom of choosing Valentines
has only accidental relation to [the] saint, being essentially a relic of the
old Roman Lupercalia . . . or from association with the mating
season of birds. It was marked by the giving of presents and nowadays by the
sending of a card on which cupids, transfixed hearts, etc., are depicted.”
And what does Cupid have to do with Valentine
Day? The same source says: “Cupid (Lat[in] cupido, desire, love). The
Roman god of love, identified with the Greek Eros. He is usually represented as
a beautiful winged boy, blindfolded, and carrying a bow and arrows.”
The World Book Encyclopedia
gives further information, offering various theories on the origin of Valentine
Day practices. “According to one story, the Roman Emperor Claudius II in
the A.D. 200’s forbade young men to marry. The emperor thought single men made
better soldiers. A priest named Valentine disobeyed the emperor’s order and
secretly married young couples. . . . Many stories say that Valentine
was executed on February 14 about A.D. 269. In A.D. 496, Saint Pope
Gelasius I named February 14 as St. Valentine’s Day.”
Regardless of the true origin of the practice,
it is evident that it is rooted in ancient pagan beliefs and in Christendom’s
listing of so-called “saints.” Valentine Day is also another excuse for
commercial exploitation of an often uninformed public.—2 Corinthians
6:14-18.
For more informative articles please go to www.jw.org
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