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Un tal Valentin, A Fellow by the name of Valentine
Un tal Valentin, A Fellow by the name of Valentine
Valentin-Quien es ese man? Who is that guy?
The older I get, the more I question all the odd things I have been raised to believe and practice. Why do I do this, and where does it come from? Does it make sense, or is it something I simply adopted because....everybody else is doing it (sigh! Last famous words)
This of course not only includes my personal beliefs, but also the holidays that I celebrate and the reason behind them. Enter the month of February and by default St Valentines day. Well, we also celebrate George Washington's birthday, or more commonly Presidents day, but since this is not nearly as romantic or commercialized as Valentines day lets focus on the first one.
There are many legends as to the origins of the saint by the name of Valentine. The Catholic church in fact recognizes several priests who were called Valentine and all of them were made martyrs. The main story behind these priests falls on the fact that under the Roman Empire, single men were better soldiers than those who had families, so marriage was outlawed, and St Valentine was a rogue priest who in the name of love continued to marry couples defying the decree. Of course the emperor finds out, orders to execute Valentine, and before his sentence is carried he writes a love letter to his beloved. The letter is titled from your Valentine, and so the tradition begins.
Another story speaks of a pagan tradition called Lupercalia, which was a fertility celebration that took place during the month of February. The church in its quest to "christianize" every pagan celebration out there decided to adopt it as its own, until later on a father decided it was an un-christian practice and so it was no longer related to the church. However in some countries like France and England, February 14th was the beginning of the birds mating season, and so it slowly became the date used to celebrate the romantic holiday.
Whatever your choices, belief systems or traditions, if in the end we are simply paying homage to that one special person that makes our world go round, then so be it. Bring on the chocolates, the love letters (hopefully handwritten), the cards, the gifts, and all those special weird human things we do to show them that we care, that we love and that they fill our lives with joy.
This of course not only includes my personal beliefs, but also the holidays that I celebrate and the reason behind them. Enter the month of February and by default St Valentines day. Well, we also celebrate George Washington's birthday, or more commonly Presidents day, but since this is not nearly as romantic or commercialized as Valentines day lets focus on the first one.
There are many legends as to the origins of the saint by the name of Valentine. The Catholic church in fact recognizes several priests who were called Valentine and all of them were made martyrs. The main story behind these priests falls on the fact that under the Roman Empire, single men were better soldiers than those who had families, so marriage was outlawed, and St Valentine was a rogue priest who in the name of love continued to marry couples defying the decree. Of course the emperor finds out, orders to execute Valentine, and before his sentence is carried he writes a love letter to his beloved. The letter is titled from your Valentine, and so the tradition begins.
Another story speaks of a pagan tradition called Lupercalia, which was a fertility celebration that took place during the month of February. The church in its quest to "christianize" every pagan celebration out there decided to adopt it as its own, until later on a father decided it was an un-christian practice and so it was no longer related to the church. However in some countries like France and England, February 14th was the beginning of the birds mating season, and so it slowly became the date used to celebrate the romantic holiday.
Whatever your choices, belief systems or traditions, if in the end we are simply paying homage to that one special person that makes our world go round, then so be it. Bring on the chocolates, the love letters (hopefully handwritten), the cards, the gifts, and all those special weird human things we do to show them that we care, that we love and that they fill our lives with joy.
Valentin-Quien es ese man? Who is that guy?
The older I get, the more I question all the odd things I have been raised to believe and practice. Why do I do this, and where does it come from? Does it make sense, or is it something I simply adopted because....everybody else is doing it (sigh! Last famous words)
This of course not only includes my personal beliefs, but also the holidays that I celebrate and the reason behind them. Enter the month of February and by default St Valentines day. Well, we also celebrate George Washington's birthday, or more commonly Presidents day, but since this is not nearly as romantic or commercialized as Valentines day lets focus on the first one.
There are many legends as to the origins of the saint by the name of Valentine. The Catholic church in fact recognizes several priests who were called Valentine and all of them were made martyrs. The main story behind these priests falls on the fact that under the Roman Empire, single men were better soldiers than those who had families, so marriage was outlawed, and St Valentine was a rogue priest who in the name of love continued to marry couples defying the decree. Of course the emperor finds out, orders to execute Valentine, and before his sentence is carried he writes a love letter to his beloved. The letter is titled from your Valentine, and so the tradition begins.
Another story speaks of a pagan tradition called Lupercalia, which was a fertility celebration that took place during the month of February. The church in its quest to "christianize" every pagan celebration out there decided to adopt it as its own, until later on a father decided it was an un-christian practice and so it was no longer related to the church. However in some countries like France and England, February 14th was the beginning of the birds mating season, and so it slowly became the date used to celebrate the romantic holiday.
Whatever your choices, belief systems or traditions, if in the end we are simply paying homage to that one special person that makes our world go round, then so be it. Bring on the chocolates, the love letters (hopefully handwritten), the cards, the gifts, and all those special weird human things we do to show them that we care, that we love and that they fill our lives with joy.
This of course not only includes my personal beliefs, but also the holidays that I celebrate and the reason behind them. Enter the month of February and by default St Valentines day. Well, we also celebrate George Washington's birthday, or more commonly Presidents day, but since this is not nearly as romantic or commercialized as Valentines day lets focus on the first one.
There are many legends as to the origins of the saint by the name of Valentine. The Catholic church in fact recognizes several priests who were called Valentine and all of them were made martyrs. The main story behind these priests falls on the fact that under the Roman Empire, single men were better soldiers than those who had families, so marriage was outlawed, and St Valentine was a rogue priest who in the name of love continued to marry couples defying the decree. Of course the emperor finds out, orders to execute Valentine, and before his sentence is carried he writes a love letter to his beloved. The letter is titled from your Valentine, and so the tradition begins.
Another story speaks of a pagan tradition called Lupercalia, which was a fertility celebration that took place during the month of February. The church in its quest to "christianize" every pagan celebration out there decided to adopt it as its own, until later on a father decided it was an un-christian practice and so it was no longer related to the church. However in some countries like France and England, February 14th was the beginning of the birds mating season, and so it slowly became the date used to celebrate the romantic holiday.
Whatever your choices, belief systems or traditions, if in the end we are simply paying homage to that one special person that makes our world go round, then so be it. Bring on the chocolates, the love letters (hopefully handwritten), the cards, the gifts, and all those special weird human things we do to show them that we care, that we love and that they fill our lives with joy.