I remember as a child in the second grade receiving a Valentine card that said: “Do not turnip up your nose at me. Lettuce be Valentines.” The card was cute but I had no idea what it meant to be ‘Valentines’ and the teacher did not explain it to the class.
This time of year we see many ads for special romantic get-away weekends. The chocolate factories have been busily preparing Valentine’s Day chocolates to sell. It is a time that has become all about giving cards, flowers or chocolates to a loved one. It sounds like a good thing, but is it?
Isn’t showing love the most valued trait of Christianity? Since it is, how can it be wrong to celebrate Valentine’s Day? When you look in to the origin of the day, it goes back to the ancient pagan Roman celebration of Lupercalia. It was dedicated to the Roman god Pan. In those early festivities, young men drew the name of a young lady and they were paired up (in more ways than one) for the coming year. In reality it had nothing to do with authentic love.
The Holy Bible describes The Creator God as personified by the characteristics of love. God’s way is a way of true love. This love is considerate of others – and yes, that might include giving cards, flowers or even chocolates to someone.
Surprisingly, a day such as Valentine’s Day is rooted in pre-Christian practices. The Word of God has something pointed to say about borrowing from extra-Biblical sources and incorporating them into our calendar of events. See Deuteronomy:12:29-31[29]When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;[30]Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.[31]Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods..
If you have not done so, I invite you to do a quick Web search regarding the origins of Valentine’s Day. The Good News magazine has published a several articles about the holiday (search for “Valentine’s Day” at www.GNmagazine.org [1].)
If Valentine’s Day really is deliberately designed for expressing love in tangible ways, why do the prices of related accoutrements, especially flowers, go up so dramatically at this time of year? It makes more sense to be generous with others by showing them genuine love and concern the rest of the year when it is much more cost effective to do so!
Anthony Wasilkoff
Links:
[1] http://www.GNmagazine.org