Can we celebrate Valentine's Day? Bashny.Net

Very soon in all shops and shopping centers everything will be flooded with various hearts. That means Valentine's Day is on the way. Nice trinkets, lots of hearts and lots of valentines. It seems to be a harmless holiday, but many people wonder where it came from and is it possible for an Orthodox person to celebrate it?





Some talk about pagan roots, others recall the story of St. Valentine, who secretly married lovers, and claim that these are all Western holidays that have nothing to do with us. Editorial "Site" I couldn’t get past this question and decided to figure out what to do. Why Valentine's Day Is Why It is considered a holiday of lovers and is it right?

What do we know about Valentine's Day? Most likely, you know the beautiful legend of St. Valentine, who secretly helped lovers. According to one version of the legend, Emperor Claudius II forbade soldiers to marry. But the faithful soldiers did not like it, they preferred to keep their purity and secretly went to Valentine to marry them with Christian girls.

After another triumphant campaign, sharing generous booty, he gave each soldier a slave. Upon learning of this, Valentine carved small hearts out of parchment and sent them to the faithful soldiers, reminding them that they had wives. This legend says that this is where the tradition of giving red hearts – valentines – came from.

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Legend has it that Valentine was sent to prison. While there, he learned that the daughter of the prison guard Julia is ill (one version says that she is blind). After Valentine prayed for the girl, she saw. After that, all the relatives of the guard secretly came to Valentine and was baptized.

Then Valentine fell in love with Julia and wrote her a postcard, which the girl received after the execution of the saint. In a postcard, he confessed his love to her and signed: Your Valentine.

This is the story that everyone knows about Valentine. However, it is worth saying that historically it has not been confirmed. Indeed, in the life of St. Valentine of Rome it is said that he healed the daughter of the imperial dignitary Asteria from blindness. For this, the emperor executed both Valentine and Asteria.





But these are only references, and how it actually happened is unknown. Let’s find out what facts are known for sure. In Christianity, at least three people named Valentine died for their faith. The first is known only that he died in Carthage together with a group of co-religionists. And no more information.

The second Valentine was Bishop of Interamna (the modern city of Terni). All we know about him is that he was executed during the persecution of Christians, but when exactly this happened, no one knows. And the third, actually Valentine of Rome, about which there are romantic legends. At the end of the fifth century, the pope decided to glorify a number of martyrs, including Valentine.





It is impossible to say exactly which. Probably all at once. Thus was established the celebration of the memory of St. Valentine, but only as a veneration of his martyrdom, without connection with the patronage of lovers. For the first time about the meeting of Valentine with the emperor Claudius is mentioned in the Martyr’s Acts and the “Golden Legend” – the Lives of Saints in 1260.

There are references to the story of the jailer’s daughter and Valentine’s refusal to betray Christ. Apparently, the lives of completely different saints merge here. And no mention of secret marriages, romantic notes, or love between a saint and a healed girl.





All these romantic legends appear much later, around 1382, when the English poet mentions in his poem that birds on Valentine’s Day begin to look for mates. Romantic literature, then in its heyday, picked up on this, developed this theme and replicated in later works.

The custom of sending cards, by the way, also arose in the Middle Ages. The first valentine in the world is a note that Charles sent to his wife in 1415. In general, we can safely say that all the romantic legends and some traditions of the holiday came to us from the Middle Ages.





And now back to Valentine and his veneration at this time. During the reform of the Roman Catholic calendar in 1969, the feast of veneration of St. Valentine was canceled because there is no reliable information about this martyr, other than information about the name and execution. The holiday remained only in the Orthodox Church.

However, Orthodox believers do not honor St. Valentine on February 14. Valentine’s Day is celebrated on July 19, and Valentine’s Day is commemorated on August 12. If you look at the lives of the saints, you can see that the legends common about them have long been mixed with each other. They were also supplemented by medieval works and romantic, unrealistic episodes.





From all this we can conclude that the image of St. Valentine - the patron saint of lovers - appears in the Middle Ages thanks to romantic literature. So it cannot be said that February 14 has anything to do with Christianity and the Great Martyrs who died for their faith. And we can also say with confidence that this holiday has nothing to do with paganism.

It is impossible to say that February 14 is a Christian holiday. So what, not to celebrate it at all now? If you want to, why not? I think that Valentine’s Day is a good reason to please your soulmate with a pleasant surprise. This does not mean that you need to bring home bouquets of roses or hearts in human growth. However, you can always please your loved one with something pleasant.





In everyday cares, we often forget to tell our loved ones about feelings, rarely please them with small but pleasant gifts. It is believed that romance is the lot of young people, and those who have been together for a long time, it does not suit the person. Nonsense!

And what, in fact, is wrong with the fact that even with the help of a foreign holiday, we are reminded that it would be good to please your beloved person and remind him of our feelings?





Therefore, we believe that the Day of Lovers can be celebrated by anyone who wants to celebrate it. And let them say that it is paganism or something else – these are just words. Love, be loved and please your loved ones!

You want to celebrate Lovers' Day? Then we share with you the best ideas for Valentine’s Day, which will help to surprise your soul mate.

Lovers' Day and no sweets. Learn how to make cute and delicious hearts from cherry dough.

You're celebrating. Lovers' Day? Tell me in the comments!