St. Valentine

The origins of Valentine’s Day appear to go back to at least three Christian martyrs named Valentine. One legend states that a Roman priest in the Christian church was the namesake for our modern Valentine’s Day. Valentine lived during the rule of Claudius II (Claudius the Cruel) in the third century. Emperor Claudius involved Rome in many unpopular and bloody campaigns but had difficulty maintaining a strong army. He believed the problem arose because many Roman men refused to join his armies for fear of what would happen to their wives and families if they died in battle. Claudius’ solution to the problem was to ban all marriages and engagements in Rome. For Valentine and the Christians, this was a violation of biblical commandments with regard to marriage and sexual relations between men and women. Valentine ignored Claudius’ decree and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. Valentine’s actions were discovered, and he was sentence to death in 269 A.D. Claudius ordered that Valentine be put to death by having his head cut off after being beaten with clubs. The sentence was supposedly carried out on February 14, 270 or very near that time.[1]

But there’s more to Valentine’s story. While imprisoned in Rome, Valentine’s jailer knew of his Christian beliefs and asked if he could heal his daughter Julia’s blindness which had afflicted her from birth. Although Valentine didn’t promise that Julia would be healed, he agreed to teach the girl. As Julia listened to Valentine’s account of Rome’s history, his descriptions of the world of nature, his instruction in arithmetic, and his stories about God, Julia’s new found knowledge led her to a greater understanding of the world beyond her blind eyes and greater comfort and peace from her faith in God.[2]

The night before Valentine’s execution, he asked the jailer for a piece of paper, pen, and ink. He wrote a farewell note and gave it to give to the jailer for delivery to Julia. In the note he encouraged her to continue to follow God. He ended by signing the note “…From Your Valentine…” When the jailer went home, he gave the note to his daughter. She opened the note and found a yellow crocus inside. Gazing at what she held in her hand, she saw the brilliant colors of the flower. Her eyesight had been restored.[3]

Another legend amends the story by replacing the jailer with Asterius, one of the men who judged and condemned Valentine according to Roman law of that time. After Valentine prayed for the judge’s daughter, her sight was restored. Such was the effect on Asterius that he became a Christian. And similar to the story about the jailer, Valentine was said to have written a note to Asterius’ daughter just before his execution which was also signed “from your Valentine.”[4]

The significance of February 14th as the date of Valentine’s Day is said to have been linked to a Roman holiday which celebrated the Roman Goddess Juno who was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses including the Goddess of women and marriage. The day following the celebration of the Goddess Juno began the Feast of Lupercalia. During the evening of February 15th, the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed in jars. From these jars young Roman man would draw a name and the girl selected would be his partner for the remainder of the celebration.[5] In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius put an end to the pagan Feast of Lupercalia by declaring that henceforth St. Valentine’s Day would be celebrated February 14th.[6]

Whatever the origins of Valentine’s Day, it is a major if not official holiday in much of the Western world. It has become a huge festival of romantic love symbolized by billions of dollars spent on the giving of cards, letters, flowers, chocolate, jewelry, dinners, and assorted other tokens of love.

According to a recent article in Time magazine’s Money website, only 55% of Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day, but those that do spend an average of $146.84 (I know I’m hopelessly “old school,” but that’s hard to believe.). In 2015, total spending for celebration of Valentine’s Day was estimated to be $19.7 billion. That’s billion with a capital “B.” Of that number, Americans spent $4.5 billion on romantic dinners and tickets to various attractions including movies and shows and $1.7 billion on candy and other sweet treats. Valentine’s Day expenditures are not only for the romantics. For those Americans that celebrate Valentine’s Day, they spend an average of $28 on cards, gifts, and other items for kids, parents, and other family members; nearly $7 on their child’s teachers and classmates; and almost $6 for coworkers.[7]

There are certain facts that any male over the age of 16 should already know, but as men generally have short memories, these facts bear repeating. Don’t always believe it when she says, “Don’t bother with a gift on Valentine’s Day. It’s not necessary. Just being with you is enough.” The insincerity of her words was confirmed by a credit card company’s survey which found that only 25% really meant it. The other 75% of those who said not to bother buying a gift were lying! Of that 75%, one-third said they really didn’t mean it, and the other two-thirds said that the giver should go ahead and buy a gift anyway.[8] So fellows, when she tells you that you don’t need to buy a gift, you have only a one-in-four chance of staying out of the dog’s house if you forego the gift.

One final word, especially for you younger guys. “Gift” does not mean a new mixer for the kitchen, a set of new snow tires for her car, or lawn furniture. And above all, don’t make it a “joint” gift that you “both can enjoy”! You may be able to get away with that at Christmas or possibly on mother’s day, but never try it on Valentine’s Day or her birthday.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] David Kithcart, “St. Valentine – the Real Story,” CBN. http://www1.cbn.com/st-valentine-real-story (accessed January 4, 2017).
[2] “The Irish Valentine,” Roaringwater Journal, February 8, 2015. https://roaringwaterjournal.com/tag/claudius-the-cruel/ (accessed January 4, 2017).
[3] Ibid.
[4] “St. Valentine beheaded,” History. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/st-valentine-beheaded (accessed January 4, 2017).
[5] “The Irish Valentine,” Roaringwater Journal.
[6] “St. Valentine beheaded,” History.
[7] Martha White, “The Truth About Valentine’s Day Spending,” Money, February 10, 2016.
http://time.com/money/4213074/valentines-day-spending/ (accessed January 4, 2017).
[8] Ibid.