ON February 14 which is a celebration of love to many, most people will be exchanging greetings of love, tokens and messages of endearing affection. What could be much easier in a social media environment where everything—every “sweet nothings”—is just a click away!
While there are those who sincerely want to express their appreciation and love to their loved ones on this day, one cannot help but wonder, why be compelled by tradition to do it
on February 14? What is this practice of exchanging “love” on Valentine’s day?
Trivialities aside, to those who want to know God’s will on this matter, and genuinely seek the truth behind it, and not just follow what the “crowd” is doing, wouldn’t you want to follow the example of what the Bereans did to every word and information or tradition they received?
“Now these (Bereans) were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)
As innocent and harmless as Valentine’s Day may appear today, its traditions and customs originated from two of the most licentious and highly sexually-charged heathen festivities of ancient history: the feast of Juno Februata (Feb.14) and Lupercalia (Feb.15), the “god of hunting and fertility”.
Behind the modern soft re-interpretation of this day, such as its attribution to a Catholic saint-martyr called “St. Valentine” of third century (AD) which until recently no authority was certain as to the real identity of this saint, studies revealed:
“Everyone knows that St. Valentine’s Day is that day of the year when friends and lovers express affection for one another, through cards, candy and flowers, or whatever means the imagination can find. But no one is quite certain who this St. Valentine was—or, more appropriately, who these Valentines were. The early lists of church martyrs reveal at least three Valentines, and one source boosted this number to an unwieldy eight, each of whom had his feast day on February 14...
“The various Valentines eventually evolved into one. Lover’s quarrels come under his jurisdiction and, naturally, he is the patron saint of engaged couples and of anyone wishing to marry” (Robert Myers, in Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays with the editors of Hallmark Cards, 1972, pp. 48-49).
This led us back to the real pre-Valentine origin of this day. As the quote from above, same author continues,
“The most plausible theory for St. Valentine’s Day traces its customs back to the Roman Lupercalia, a feast celebrated in February in honor of the pastoral god Lupercus, a Roman version of the Greek god Pan. The festival was an important one for the Romans and, occurring when it did, naturally had some aspects of a rebirth rite to it” (Robert Myers, in Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays, pp. 50-51).
The World Book Encyclopedia adds:
“The customs connected with the day... probably come from an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia which took place every February 15. The festival honored Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, and Pan, the god of nature” (1973, vol. 20, p. 204).
But today, our young women are no longer being kidnapped and/or beaten with strips of animal skin called februa in order to prove their fertility. Instead they turn their focus to “St. Valentine”, the patron saint of “engaged couples” and anyone wishing to “marry” (but still retaining the pagan symbol of “cute” Cupid welding bow and arrow). Thus making the actual origin and identity of Valentine even murkier than the connection it bore to real romance and true love.
But what’s wrong with “borrowed” festivities for as long as it is done in a “loving” and “harmless” way? One may be tempted to ask. The trouble with such opinion is that real Christianity is not so much about one’s own feeling or emotion (what “feels” right). Christianity is a conscious choice between following God and His words as against our “self -made”, self-imposed desires which most often than not (without God’s Holy Spirit) are misdirected (Deuteronomy 4:26; 30:19; Proverbs 16:25).
As the Scriptures admonished, following what’s in your heart is not always a good thing, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9). The heart must be tempered with what is the truth (Psalm 119:142 cf. John 17:17).
God is the “God of love” as such, all his words point us to the right direction of godly love.
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3)
“But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” (1 John 2:5)
“Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15)
So what does God have to say about observing refurbished traditions, no matter how well meaning?
“When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess … do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods … Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it” (Deuteronomy 12:29-32)
As the prophet Jeremiah once pleaded, “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen.” (Jeremiah 10:2)
The apostle Peter told us that in such time as this (Valentine’s Day), God overlooks our ignorance but desires for us to change and really seek Him in truth:
“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).
Thus, as Jesus Christ plainly tells us, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
Comments