Valentines Day: The Story Behind

There are millions of people around the world who celebrates this love month. This is also one of the most income generating month aside from Christmas in several countries. Imagine the number of flowers bought, rings carved, and restaurants booked on this occasion. What is this Valentines Day? Is this a Roman Catholic event? How did it all started? First thing we need to know is this occasion is not fully celebrated and observed in the Roman Catholic Church except in the calendars of Greek Orthodox Churches and Lutheran Churches probably because they also have their own stories of who St. Valentines was. In order to understand this Valentines Day occasion we need to briefly review how it all started. Many believed that the name Valentines was not owned by only one person but a number of them. A legend story has it that this person is a priest during the Roman era where adultery and polygamy was very rampant. This wicked practices were tolerated in the culture of Roman Emperor Claudius to avoid his soldiers from the distraction cause by marriage with family and children. But St. Valentines did not like that idea, probably to counter sexual immorality, he secretly officiated a wedding ceremony with every soldiers. It so happen that this is also the mating season for birds. Unfortunately, St. Valentines was martyred because of his conviction that a couple need to get right in the eyes of God through marriage. If this is the case then Valentines Day reminds us that real love involves the commitment of marriage and sacredness of sex in the eyes of the One who designed it. So is it fine to greet another person a Happy Valentines Day? As long as it does not violate your conviction and you understand the essence behind the greeting then I see nothing unbiblical about it. Why not use this as a good conversational starter by asking the person if he or she understands the connection between love, marriage, and sex with Valentines Day. And how real love was shown to us by God when He send His Son Jesus Christ to die for us on the cross. Let’s use this occasion to engage people with the love and salvation of Christ.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. - 1 John 4:7-10