St. Valentine
Today's post is a very special one. Today, dear readers, you will actually learn something. Mostly because I can't stand Valentines Day mainly because of what it's become. It was a celebration of marriage. Now it's a day that is often viewed with trepidation by the male portion of relationships.
It is not officially known whether St. Valetine was one or two people. However, the tale still remains the same: St. Valentine was a Christian priest in the Roman Empire during the third century. During this time Christianity was outlawed and those who were Christian were in hiding. Because of the outlawing of Christianity, those who performed weddings under Christ's name did so under fear of death.
St. Valentine, despite the penalty of death, continued to perform the ceremonies. The local Roman authorities caught wind of what St. Valentine was doing and immediately arrested him. Because St. Valentine was a Roman citizen, he appealed to Ceasar, like Paul, and was sent off to Rome. The story goes that as St. Valentine stood in front of Emporer Claudius, Valetine tried to convert the emporer himself to Christianity.
Of course things didn't go so well for St. Valentine, and the emporer ordered him to be stoned (or burned depending on who is telling the story) to death and then beheaded. However, ironically enough St. Valentine was sainted during the late Middle Ages and a feast established in his honor. Most historians agree that the day was created in order to combat another pagan holiday (which I don't remember the name of right now).
It's disconcerting to see what was once was a holiday celebrating the defiance of a Christian man upholding the sanctity of marriage, turned into a revelry of what is nothing more than sex and sugar. Yes, of course the major companies that make money off of Valentines Day claim to have "love" in mind, but it's all about making a profit. In fact, there's one company that nearly built an empire on Valentines Day that shall remain nameless *cough cough* Hallmark *cough cough*.
We need to get back to the original thinking of St. Valentine. Valentines Day should be a day that celebrates marriage and relationships in a positive manner, not this farce that looms on the calendar of most couples. We must also be sure to love our significant others throughout the entire year, not just on one single day. Be spontaneous. Get her some nice roses on your way home from work. Get him a new video game (or whatever he enjoys). Don't just show affection on Valetines Day.
And a quick shout out to my loyal follower Rachel Meuller. Thanks for haunting this little blog o' mine. :D
It is not officially known whether St. Valetine was one or two people. However, the tale still remains the same: St. Valentine was a Christian priest in the Roman Empire during the third century. During this time Christianity was outlawed and those who were Christian were in hiding. Because of the outlawing of Christianity, those who performed weddings under Christ's name did so under fear of death.
St. Valentine, despite the penalty of death, continued to perform the ceremonies. The local Roman authorities caught wind of what St. Valentine was doing and immediately arrested him. Because St. Valentine was a Roman citizen, he appealed to Ceasar, like Paul, and was sent off to Rome. The story goes that as St. Valentine stood in front of Emporer Claudius, Valetine tried to convert the emporer himself to Christianity.
Of course things didn't go so well for St. Valentine, and the emporer ordered him to be stoned (or burned depending on who is telling the story) to death and then beheaded. However, ironically enough St. Valentine was sainted during the late Middle Ages and a feast established in his honor. Most historians agree that the day was created in order to combat another pagan holiday (which I don't remember the name of right now).
It's disconcerting to see what was once was a holiday celebrating the defiance of a Christian man upholding the sanctity of marriage, turned into a revelry of what is nothing more than sex and sugar. Yes, of course the major companies that make money off of Valentines Day claim to have "love" in mind, but it's all about making a profit. In fact, there's one company that nearly built an empire on Valentines Day that shall remain nameless *cough cough* Hallmark *cough cough*.
We need to get back to the original thinking of St. Valentine. Valentines Day should be a day that celebrates marriage and relationships in a positive manner, not this farce that looms on the calendar of most couples. We must also be sure to love our significant others throughout the entire year, not just on one single day. Be spontaneous. Get her some nice roses on your way home from work. Get him a new video game (or whatever he enjoys). Don't just show affection on Valetines Day.
And a quick shout out to my loyal follower Rachel Meuller. Thanks for haunting this little blog o' mine. :D
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