February 14: Is the world celebrating a Christian martyr? Although there are no factual hooks to explain the association or overlapping of the honouring of St. Valentine – a purely Christian celebration, and the ancient Roman Lupercalia – a purely pagan festival, some appropriations can be made from what seemingly is a mere coincidence in calendrical dating, symbolisms and significance. How can Christians restore holiness to Valentine’s Day? REV. FR. MICHAEL CHIKE OSAMOR sheds light on the ambiguous issue.
The annual mid-February world day of love and lovers is one whose evolution is laced with lots of fables and legends, with diverse cultural, religious [pagan and Christian], and socio-economic twists to it. Today, many folks, young and old, male and female, are buoyed up with enthusiasm and passion as they anticipate the 14th day of February because of the stretch of opportunities it avails them to give expressions to their proclivity for passion. Indeed, a good number of people esteem the Valentine grace and take advantage of the opportunity to exercise their noble and deep seated love for spouses, friends, colleagues, and family in a dignifying and altruistic manner. Yet, it doesn’t go unnoticed, and lamentably so, the extent of distortion and corruption of the ideal Valentine as seen in the vileness and selfishness that floats in the society under the guise of celebrating “love”. Inasmuch as it must be admitted that the bulk of the details that explain the origins, rationale and constitution of Valentine’s Day are unclear and un- certain, it is nevertheless helpful to make recourse to history if the current trends and ills are to be corrected and remodeled.
From a cultural perspective, what has become renowned as the Day of Love and Lovers is not unlinked with the ancient Roman ceremonies of Lupercalia (13th-15th February), wherein the priests of pagan descendants and disciples of Remus and Romulus performed sacrificial rituals for purification and invoking the deity for fertility. Orthodox Christian heritage, on the other hand, spells that the day commemorates the legacy of a certain Bishop Valentine martyred in the 3rd century AD by Emperor Claudius II. While in prison, the Bishop lovingly tutored a certain Julia, the blind daughter of his jailer, and through his prayers, she miraculously regained her sight and her pagan father and family got converted to Christianity. Bishop Valentine is remembered for having infuriated the emperor by not only attempting to sway him to the Christian religion, but also his commitment to caring for persecuted Christians and facilitating the marriage of couples who were in love especially soldiers.
The legend adds that the night before Valentine’s execution on the 14th of February, he scribbled a note to Julia and signed it – “from your Valentine”. Although there are no factual hooks to explain the association or overlapping of the honoring of St Valentine – a purely Christian celebration, and the ancient Roman Lupercalia – a purely pagan festival, some appropriations can be made from what seemingly is a mere coincidence in calendrical dating, symbolisms and significance.
The Christian Import of a Pagan Festival
It is possible to make some theological appropriations or Christifying of some striking elements of the Luperculia festival, namely Sacrifice/Worship and Ritual Purification. These two poles of the pagan feast can be associated with two very essential sacraments of the Church – Eucharist and Penance. If the Roman pagans, in celebrating the annual festival, paid so much attention to offering sacrifices and entreating their god for fertility and fruitfulness, then we too, in celebrating Love’s Day, must place a premium on offering/partaking in the most sacred and sublime sacrifice of the Mass, to the one true God, beseeching Him for all the graces and blessings we stand in need of. Again, if the festival of Lupercalia provided the devotees the avenue to perform rites of purification, February then we should also, within the context of Valentine’s Day, make concerted efforts to cleanse ourselves of every defilement, especially of the soul by going for the sacrament of reconciliation.
The Correct Language of Love
No one has spoken so loudly, yet so solemnly and correctly the language of love that he who is love himself, in person and in character – God {1John 4:7-21}. If the Tri-persona essence of love in the one Godhead [Trinity] has given the fullest expression of love in the person of Christ in whom we are adopted and incorporated into divinehood, then we have a definition and model of what love should be and how its language ought to be spoken. In fact, having echoed his identity in the gentle but powerful gesture of self-giving as evidenced in the mystery of incarnation {John 1:1-14, 3:16, Gal 4:4-5}, and left us with the summons to resemble him, as every child should the parent, then we are to exude something of his character as love personified; yes, we are to plurify that singular attribute of God because the imprint of divinity is woven into our DNA we have been endowed with the capacity to speak this language and speak it genuinely, nobly, and emphatically, especially within the context and as the content of Valentine’s Day. More so, since St. Valentine is fondly remembered for having suffered martyrdom on account of his vehement insistence and promotion of the values of decency, legitimacy and honour that should be ascribed to spousal relationships, and conjugal unions, then it is imperative that we have these in mind and truly celebrate a VAL-U-entine Day; a valentine modeled after Christ’s example of love, placing a premium on the “U” (You) rather than the “I” (self).
The correct language of love is spoken when the tone is not self-oriented; when the gestures by which the affection is expressed are not aimed at exploiting or manipulating the other, thereby securing some material, financial, sexual or any other advantage for oneself. For a godly person, when love is the subject, the principal object should be the beloved, not the lover. On the flip side, when the celebration of love on 14th February is woven with vile and vicious motives, as many young adults are inclined to; posing as predators who ingratiate themselves toward their prey with the baits of luxury shopping, expensive gifts, then we would have succeeded in celebrating a VILE-ntine, a corruption of the ideal.
• Rev. Fr. Michael Chike Osamor is Associate Priest-in-Charge, Catholic Church of the Presentation, Festac Town, Lagos.
