Saint Valen-who?
Saint Valentine's Day. Singles Awareness Day. Hallmark Holiday. Married Couples Day.
Love it, hate it or express indifference, Valentine's Day has arrived.
What exactly is today, beyond the roses, chocolates and tacky sweet notes? Do we even know who St Valentine is and why we celebrate this day? No, most of us don't. Before my poking and prodding online and in few book of saints, all I could recall of the supposed St Valentine was that he was a martyr. I somehow associated a fairly gruesome Renaissance painting with the saint. Turns out the Ruben was actually of St. Sebastian...
Well, apparently there was a St. Valentine. Several St. Valentines actually. But the one that comes up most frequently is the one that defied Claudius II in the late 200s AD by marrying Christian couples (apparently single men were needed to support the army...) So he was imprisoned. And Claudius started to take a liking to him...until Valentine attempted to convert the Emperor...leading to Valentine's death by clubbing and beheading.
And thanks to Chaucer and, much later, our Victorian romantics with a firm push by Hallmark in 1913, Valentines Day erupted into the day of affection we now know.
And it seems fitting...the saint died for secretly marrying those in love. Those who wanted to commit to each other in the eyes of God...despite what their government decreed.
And the cynic in me came out. Here we are, celebrating love and commitment out in the open. And my heart went out to many couples I know. Couples who are just as committed to each other, if not more so than most of us. Because they do not have a government that recognizes the choice they've made to stand by each other through thick and thin. Because they are often shunned by faith communities for attempting to show their love for each other. Yet despite that these couples endure. And these couples are vilified because the love they choose, the love they commit to, the love they promise to cherish and to hold...is of the same gender.
Why do we shudder and turn our backs on their commitment to each other? The thoughts of sex? Socially ingrained taboos? Some phase taken out of Leviticus, usually out of context while ignoring the countless other religious mandates that have passed by the wayside? Perhaps. But quite frankly, what is done behind closed doors is between that person, their partner and God. It is none of my business, nor is what I do with my husband any of theirs. But what most of us do pay witness to is the incredible joy and love they share in each others company. And that grace is contagious.
That grace is really what this day is about.
Love it, hate it or express indifference, Valentine's Day has arrived.
What exactly is today, beyond the roses, chocolates and tacky sweet notes? Do we even know who St Valentine is and why we celebrate this day? No, most of us don't. Before my poking and prodding online and in few book of saints, all I could recall of the supposed St Valentine was that he was a martyr. I somehow associated a fairly gruesome Renaissance painting with the saint. Turns out the Ruben was actually of St. Sebastian...
Well, apparently there was a St. Valentine. Several St. Valentines actually. But the one that comes up most frequently is the one that defied Claudius II in the late 200s AD by marrying Christian couples (apparently single men were needed to support the army...) So he was imprisoned. And Claudius started to take a liking to him...until Valentine attempted to convert the Emperor...leading to Valentine's death by clubbing and beheading.
And thanks to Chaucer and, much later, our Victorian romantics with a firm push by Hallmark in 1913, Valentines Day erupted into the day of affection we now know.
And it seems fitting...the saint died for secretly marrying those in love. Those who wanted to commit to each other in the eyes of God...despite what their government decreed.
And the cynic in me came out. Here we are, celebrating love and commitment out in the open. And my heart went out to many couples I know. Couples who are just as committed to each other, if not more so than most of us. Because they do not have a government that recognizes the choice they've made to stand by each other through thick and thin. Because they are often shunned by faith communities for attempting to show their love for each other. Yet despite that these couples endure. And these couples are vilified because the love they choose, the love they commit to, the love they promise to cherish and to hold...is of the same gender.
Why do we shudder and turn our backs on their commitment to each other? The thoughts of sex? Socially ingrained taboos? Some phase taken out of Leviticus, usually out of context while ignoring the countless other religious mandates that have passed by the wayside? Perhaps. But quite frankly, what is done behind closed doors is between that person, their partner and God. It is none of my business, nor is what I do with my husband any of theirs. But what most of us do pay witness to is the incredible joy and love they share in each others company. And that grace is contagious.
That grace is really what this day is about.
posted by Unknown at
6:22 PM
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