Valentine is all about the exchange of gifts and romance, right? Well, it is not so.
It all started with a kind-hearted, humble priest named Valentine. During his time, there was an emperor in Rome named Claudius who persecuted/tortured Christians. He made a law that prohibited marriages and engagements in Rome. This is because he had difficulty getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families. He also reasoned that single men made better soldiers and fought better than those with wives, saying that if they are married, they would be afraid of what might happen to their wives and family if they died in battle. So, he banned marriage for young men.
Valentine, realising the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against the command of Emperor Claudius and for protecting Christians.
While in prison, Valentine met Asterius, who was to judge him in line with the Roman law at the time. Asterius had a daughter named Julia who was blind. Valentine prayed and healed the young girl. This had an astonishing effect on Asterius, who became a Christian as a result.
In the year 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to a three-part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally beheaded, all because of his stand for Christian marriage.
Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote Julia a letter signed “From your Valentine,” this inspired today’s romantic expression- ‘your valentine’. It was said that the content of his letter was an advice to Julia that she should be very close to God.
Saint Valentine’s martyrdom (death) has not gone unnoticed by the general public; although many people celebrate valentine without any understanding of what it means and what it stands for. We find people, especially the young ones celebrating it the wrong way- they see it as a time to get a man/woman/boy/girl to celebrate with by doing all kinds of ungodly things- if Saint Valentine was alive, I believe he will not be happy, the way people have misunderstood his sacrifice for humanity to sustain reproduction through marriage. Most people are not learning the lesson of self-sacrifice in fulfilment of one’s destiny which valentine stands for.
The celebration of Saint Valentine did not have any romantic connotations until sometimes later in the 14th century, when people started to make it a romantic celebration. Earlier beliefs were focused on sacrifice rather than romantic love.
[source: the nation]
