how did valentine's day start
Every February 14, across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint, and where did these traditions come from? Find out about the history of this centuries-old holiday, from ancient Roman rituals to the customs of Victorian England. |
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THE LEGEND OF ST. VALENTINE
The history of Valentine’s Day–and the story of its patron saint–is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl–possibly his jailor’s daughter–who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and–most importantly–romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation,
Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France
history of valentine day
When I was young, no one called it Valentines Day, everyone called it Saint Valentines day. You remember? Now they just call it Valentines Day because they don’t want to think about saints (laughter). Because its actually totally contradictory to the whole conception of what valentine’s day is all about.Who was saint valentine? There were 2 saint valentines. And they were both celibate monks who were preachers of God consciousness. One of them was a catholic priest who lived in Rome and who preached the message of love of God with such enthusiasm and there was so much opposition against him, he lived in the second half of the 3rd century; that means just two and a half hundred years after Jesus Christ. And even though preaching of Christianity was against the law, it was a criminal activity, he was preaching, he was risking his life and he was brahmachari. He was a priest, he sacrificed family life, any relationship with sex, for the sake of preaching the instructions of love of God and he was captured, he was tortured and he was killed. He’s one of the great martyrs of the Catholic Church. And then the second saint valentine, he was a bishop in the catholic church. He was also a celibate monk, who dedicated his whole life to God consciousness, and he was a preacher, and he was also captured tortured and killed because he wouldn’t give up preaching devotion to God. Saint valentine, these 2 great personalities, the sacrificed all the pleasures of this world, life itself to serve God.
So you may be wondering, what that has to do with Valentines day in Bombay today. I don’t see any celibate is giving valentines, at least they are not supposed to. But saint valentine was celibate.
He respected every woman as his mother. But a little alter because the day both these saint Valentines were killed, were murdered, was February 14th So in England and France February 14th is the middle of the second month of the year. It’s like the beginning of spring. Yes? Tomorrow we’re celebrating basant panchami, beginning of spring.
Now what people saw is just in this spring is begging, Feb 14th they saw male and female birds meeting in the trees and mating. It’s the mating season. The inauguration of the mating season for the birds and the beasts. So devotees see it for what it is.
But romantic materialists they are very attracted to this when they see a male bird and a female bird biting each other with their beaks and having sex life. This is considered something very nice. So since the middle of Feb. is the day when the birds mate, they were thinking that we should consecrate this day as the day of showing your passionate love to others because that’s what the birds do on this day, And it happened to be the day on which saint valentine was murdered, so it came to be known as saint valentines day.
So really what saint valentines day is all about for a religious person is giving up everything, being willing to undergo torture and killing in the service of the lord. That’s what Valentines day means to a vaisnava, or to a devotee. But to a materialistic person Saint Valentine’s Day means following in the footsteps of the lusty birds.
