Valentine's Day
14/02/14 05:22
These days almost nobody ever names their child Valentinus. The name, derived from the root, valens means worthy, strong, and powerful. It was a very popular name in late antiquity. At one point there were at least eleven saints commemorated by the Roman Catholic Church with the name Valentine. The Eastern Orthodox Church has another list of Saint Valentines. The lists name several dates as the date of death for the various saints. A priest from Viterbo died on November 3. A bishop from Raetia died on January 7. A fifth-century priest and hermit died on July 4. A Spanish hermit died on October 25. The list goes on and on. In a sense there are a lot of different days that might be considered to be St. Valentine’s Day.
There are, however, a number of saints named Valentine who are said to have died on February 14. The day of commemoration of a saint is the day on which that saint died. It isn’t a morbid tradition, but rather a celebration of the entry of the saint into the realm of heaven.
There are two saints named Valentine whose stories are often mixed and combined in the mythology of the day on which we celebrate romantic love. Valentine, a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudis II, was arrested and imprisoned because he was caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians during the time that Christianity was banned and Christians were being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. The story is that Claudius took a liking to the priest and the priest tried to convert Claudius to Christianity which resulted in the priest being beaten with clubs and stones and then beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate. The date of his death has been reported at various times in 267, 270 and even as late as 273.
Another Valentine, the bishop of Terni in central Italy is credited with the miraculous healing of the blindness of the daughter of his judge. He was arrested for his faith in Jesus multiple times and eventually was sent to Rome where he met Claudius and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity whereupon he was beaten and beheaded in much the same manner as the priest. The date of the bishop’s death is recorded as February 14, 269
Apparently Claudius didn’t take kindly to attempts to convert him to Christianity.
There isn’t a lot known about the particulars of the origins of the celebration of romantic love that is associated with the day other than the stories of the priest who continued to perform marriages for couples for home marriage was deemed to be illegal.
The Roman Catholic Church did little to ease the confusion when, in 1969, it revised its list of saints for universal liturgical veneration. I am always mixed up as to who did and did not get included on the revised list, but I think that it is the bishop of Terni who remains on the list and therefore February 14 remains an official saint’s day recognized by liturgical churches. Or maybe it was the other Valentine. At any rate it is recognized as an official feast day in the Roman Catholic and Anglican communions as well as the Lutheran Church and a number of other churches that celebrate specific saint’s day.
Mostly, it is a secular holiday these days, however. It is a good day for the sales of cards, flowers, candy and other gifts for one’s love. Romance is in the air and there are more than a few couples who plan the evening as a time for a romantic date. The day landing on a Friday this year has increased the number of special opportunities for romantic encounters. Restaurants and hotels have been selling romantic getaway packages for months now. Reservations are tight in many area restaurants.
We do seem to enjoy an opportunity to remind ourselves that romantic love is a good thing - a gift of God that is worthy of a celebration. It doesn’t require a complete and accurate knowledge of third century Rome to know that love is worthy of recognition and celebration.
Unfortunately for the sellers of flowers and chocolates across much of the eastern seaboard of the United States, the weather is not cooperating with the biggest day for sales and deliveries. The florists’ vans are all snowed in in Washington DC, New York and a host of other major cities across the region and when the flowers don’t get delivered, the florists don’t make any money.
The projection has been that Americans would spend about $2 billion on Valentines flowers this year. Nobody knows how big the impact of the day-before-Valentine’s blizzard will be on those sales, but on the day that was projected to be the busiest of the year for florists, the Washington Post reported that more than two-thirds of the area’s flower shops were closed and the fleet of delivery trucks was virtually grounded.Estimates range from 15 to 50 percent drop in sales due to the blizzard.
Hopefully some of the customers who placed flower orders will understand the impact of the blizzard and will still be pleased with flowers that arrive a day or two late.
The weather is bound to keep some of the restaurant and hotel business at home as well.
On the other hand, it does seem that home is a good place to celebrate Christian love. Maybe we’ve become confused in our thinking if we believe that romance requires a special night away ini order to flourish. Perhaps the love that the saints celebrated and sought to foster is the everyday love that couples live in the small events and gestures as much as it is the special occasion and gifts.
Perhaps a blizzard gives the opportunity for some couples to recognize that the real gift is the gift of each other. Special recognitions with candy and flowers are nice, but the real gift of love is the depth of relationship that is shared.
So we don’t know which saint, really. And we aren’t sure about the day. And the flowers might not get delivered on time. But love is a good thing to celebrate everyday.
Happy Valentine’s Day! May you discover and appreciate the love that is a gift of God.
There are, however, a number of saints named Valentine who are said to have died on February 14. The day of commemoration of a saint is the day on which that saint died. It isn’t a morbid tradition, but rather a celebration of the entry of the saint into the realm of heaven.
There are two saints named Valentine whose stories are often mixed and combined in the mythology of the day on which we celebrate romantic love. Valentine, a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudis II, was arrested and imprisoned because he was caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians during the time that Christianity was banned and Christians were being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. The story is that Claudius took a liking to the priest and the priest tried to convert Claudius to Christianity which resulted in the priest being beaten with clubs and stones and then beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate. The date of his death has been reported at various times in 267, 270 and even as late as 273.
Another Valentine, the bishop of Terni in central Italy is credited with the miraculous healing of the blindness of the daughter of his judge. He was arrested for his faith in Jesus multiple times and eventually was sent to Rome where he met Claudius and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity whereupon he was beaten and beheaded in much the same manner as the priest. The date of the bishop’s death is recorded as February 14, 269
Apparently Claudius didn’t take kindly to attempts to convert him to Christianity.
There isn’t a lot known about the particulars of the origins of the celebration of romantic love that is associated with the day other than the stories of the priest who continued to perform marriages for couples for home marriage was deemed to be illegal.
The Roman Catholic Church did little to ease the confusion when, in 1969, it revised its list of saints for universal liturgical veneration. I am always mixed up as to who did and did not get included on the revised list, but I think that it is the bishop of Terni who remains on the list and therefore February 14 remains an official saint’s day recognized by liturgical churches. Or maybe it was the other Valentine. At any rate it is recognized as an official feast day in the Roman Catholic and Anglican communions as well as the Lutheran Church and a number of other churches that celebrate specific saint’s day.
Mostly, it is a secular holiday these days, however. It is a good day for the sales of cards, flowers, candy and other gifts for one’s love. Romance is in the air and there are more than a few couples who plan the evening as a time for a romantic date. The day landing on a Friday this year has increased the number of special opportunities for romantic encounters. Restaurants and hotels have been selling romantic getaway packages for months now. Reservations are tight in many area restaurants.
We do seem to enjoy an opportunity to remind ourselves that romantic love is a good thing - a gift of God that is worthy of a celebration. It doesn’t require a complete and accurate knowledge of third century Rome to know that love is worthy of recognition and celebration.
Unfortunately for the sellers of flowers and chocolates across much of the eastern seaboard of the United States, the weather is not cooperating with the biggest day for sales and deliveries. The florists’ vans are all snowed in in Washington DC, New York and a host of other major cities across the region and when the flowers don’t get delivered, the florists don’t make any money.
The projection has been that Americans would spend about $2 billion on Valentines flowers this year. Nobody knows how big the impact of the day-before-Valentine’s blizzard will be on those sales, but on the day that was projected to be the busiest of the year for florists, the Washington Post reported that more than two-thirds of the area’s flower shops were closed and the fleet of delivery trucks was virtually grounded.Estimates range from 15 to 50 percent drop in sales due to the blizzard.
Hopefully some of the customers who placed flower orders will understand the impact of the blizzard and will still be pleased with flowers that arrive a day or two late.
The weather is bound to keep some of the restaurant and hotel business at home as well.
On the other hand, it does seem that home is a good place to celebrate Christian love. Maybe we’ve become confused in our thinking if we believe that romance requires a special night away ini order to flourish. Perhaps the love that the saints celebrated and sought to foster is the everyday love that couples live in the small events and gestures as much as it is the special occasion and gifts.
Perhaps a blizzard gives the opportunity for some couples to recognize that the real gift is the gift of each other. Special recognitions with candy and flowers are nice, but the real gift of love is the depth of relationship that is shared.
So we don’t know which saint, really. And we aren’t sure about the day. And the flowers might not get delivered on time. But love is a good thing to celebrate everyday.
Happy Valentine’s Day! May you discover and appreciate the love that is a gift of God.