Today is St. Valentine’s day–a celebration that is among the top five holidays which have had their Christian meaning forgotten in contemporary culture (along with Easter, Christmas, Fat Tuesday [Mardi Gras], and Halloween).
But it’s still popular, and certainly if you have a special someone, you need to do your part and get or do something nice for them.
In some ways, St. Valentine’s day is the hardest one of the Forgotten Five to articulate is Christian meaning. I mean, Easter is about the Resurrection, and Christmas is about the Nativity. Fat Tuesday is about the last chance to enjoy things we will give up for Lent, and Halloween is the preparation for the day celebrating all of the saints in heaven.
But what is St. Valentine’s day about? Obviously, about St. Valentine–but he lived so long ago that we don’t really know very much about him (other than that there was one and he was a martyr). The facts of his life have become enmeshed with Christian legend, and it’s hard to know much about him for sure.
Many of those legends connect him with helping out lovers in various ways, which explains why all the married men (among others) have got to get flowers and candy on the way home from work today (don’t forget!).
Still, it would help us better appreciate the day if we knew what there is to know about St. Valentine, which is why you should also
Happy St. Valentine’s Day, y’all!
“men (among others) have got to get flowers and candy on the way home from work today (don’t forget!).”
I hope this was meant to be a bit of irony or perhaps sarcasm. My wife is a floral designer and I’ve got to tell you that the WORST time of the year is “Hell Week” – the week leading up to and including V-Day. I’ve come to appreciate the very long, hard hours the floral business puts in for this holiday – and all of them on their feet. Just as an example – my wife worked all day, all evening, and got home this morning after 1am – she just left for today’s round of “let’s see who can wait until the last minute” to get their Valentine flowers.
“On the way home from work”? I sure hope those were ordered ahead of time and just need to be picked up rather than made up on the spot while some anxious and thoughtless guy wonders why it takes so long, after all “it’s just flowers how hard can it be?”.
I’ll be glad when today is over.
John-
What an interesting look at the other side of that world. I forbade my husband from bringing home flowers today a long time ago. Any other day of the year if he wants to, but not today. Hopefully your wife gets a little break!
Or marry a nice Polish girl! My wife is from Poland and had not much knowledge of St. Valentines day—so we have decided not to observe it in the popular fashion. ….too much craziness and all the red hearts and all! Perhaps we can sit down and read the Popes New Encylical instead….
Now this is not to say that it is bad or anything to observe the good popular customs (with in limits)….but since it was not in her culture — I get away with it…:)
Actually we are both Tertiaries of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and Captives (founded in 1198 to glorify the Trinity and liberate captives from the moors — and help those in danger of losing their faith or who are poor etc). And today is one of our great feasts! St. John Baptist of the Concep. — he founded the discalced branch of our Order and we are fond of him.
Thus we celebrate his feast (no offence to the Holy Martyr!)
I just saw something at National Review Online (http://www.nationalreview.com/symposium/symposium200602140956.asp) where they were discussing, for Valentine’s Day, the women they admire. Scott W. Johnson makes mention of Katherine Kersten.
The thing I thought worth posting here has to do with her thoughts on the censorship of the Mohammed cartoons.
Kathy is now a metro columnist for the Strib. Last week she addressed the paper’s handling of the cartoon controversy: “[M]any newspapers insist that the cartoons violate their standards. The [Minneapolis] Star Tribune described them as ‘purposefully sacrilegious’ and has declined to reprint them. Many Christian readers will be watching to see if standards differ the next time a cartoonist turns his sights on evangelical Christians or the Catholic Church.” Don’t you love her too?
So, any thoughts on whether the MSM will give a pass to editorialists who offend Christians in the US (like USA Today’s opinion piece “What has happened to America’s Jesus?” – http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20060213/cm_usatoday/whathashappenedtoamericasjesus), or will they decide again that words or pictures that offend a religion should not be printed?
3 guess – the first 2 don’t count.
This a strange day for me. My wife and decided long ago not to celebrate Valentine’s day. Our thought being we don’t need a special day to express our love for each other when we *should* be doing it 365 days a year. Obviously, we aren’t perfect and make mistakes. But then what is the significance of today in our culture? It seems to me it’s turned into more of a day when we guys gifts and do nice things as a sort of apology for not being a better spouse in the first place. We are guilted into buying expensive presents that are intentionally marked up because it would be wrong not to get our loved one a gift? Then we call it love and package it as romance. Honestly, I’m not trying to be cynical. I guess we just want our gifts to each other to be ourselves — gifts of sacrifice in accordance with God’s covenant in the Sacrament of marriage. Am I crazy? Anyone else feel this way?
I remember reading one story of a St. Valentine who was a physician. Is that inaccurate?
Happy Saints Cyril and Methodius Day!
What about the Ground Hog-ification of Candlemas, the Presentation of the Lord?
which explains why all the married men (among others) have got to get flowers and candy on the way home from work today (don’t forget!).
Hey, let’s share the Hallmark bill: women can buy meaningless trinkets and cliched cards for their husbands on Valentine’s day too! (However, there is a sneaking rumor going around that suggests that most men would prefer being served their favorite meal- which is harder to commercialize.)
Wouldn’t it be nice if Valentine’s Day was a celebration for those we have NOT told we loved?
Has anyone but my wife and I noticed that the secular media today only calls it “SAINT Valentine’s Day” when reffering to the gangster murder in Chicago as in the “SAINT Valentine’s Day Massacre?” All other times we heard it–it was just Valentine’s Day–not “SAINT Valentine’s Day.”