This is the exact Valentine's Day Message as sent to our mailing list at Good
Works On Earth.
Good
Works On Earth Home Page: Archive: Message #100
Date:
Feb 11 2000 09:41:15 EST
From: Good
Works On Earth
Subject: Valentine's Day - The Story
Greetings from Good Works On Earth
We received this story below today.
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Subject: How Valentine's Day began
ST.
VALENTINE'S DAY - How It All Began
The
story of Valentine's Day begins in the third century with an
oppressive
Roman emperor and a humble Christian martyr. The
emperor was
Claudius II Gothicus. The Christian was Valentinus.
Claudius had ordered all Romans to worship the state religion's
idols, and he
had made it a crime punishable by death to associate
with
Christians.
But
Valentinus was dedicated to the ideals of Christ, and not even
the threat of
death could keep him from practicing his beliefs.
During
the last weeks of Valentinus's life a remarkable thing
happened. One
day a jailer for the Emperor of Rome knocked at
Valentinus's
door clutching his blind daughter in his arms. He had
learned of
Valentinus's medical and spiritual healing abilities, and
appealed to
Valentinus to treat his daughter's blindness. She had
been blind
since birth.
Valentinus knew her condition would be difficult to treat but he gave
the man his
word he would do his best. The little girl was examined,
given an
ointment for her eyes and a series of re-visits were scheduled.
Seeing
that he was a man of learning, the jailer asked whether his
daughter,
Julia, might also be brought to Valentinus for lessons.
Julia was a
pretty young girl with a quick mind. Valentinus read
stories of
Rome's history to her. He described the world of nature
to her. He
taught her arithmetic and told her about God. She saw
the world
through his eyes, trusted in his wisdom, and found
comfort in
his quiet strength.
'Valentinus, does God really hear our prayers?' Julia said one day.
'Yes,
my child, He hears each one, 'he replied.
'Do you
know what I pray for every morning and every night?
I pray that I
might see. I want so much to see everything you've
told me
about!'
'God does what is best for us if we will believe in Him,' Valentinus
said.
'Oh,
Valentinus, I do believe,' Julia said intensely. 'I do.' She
knelt and
grasped his hand. They sat quietly together, each praying.
Several
weeks passed and the girl's sight was not restored. Yet the
man and his
daughter never wavered in their faith and returned each
week.
Then
one day, Valentinus received a visit from Roman soldiers who
arrested him,
destroyed his medicines and admonished him for his
religious
beliefs. When the little girl's father learned of his arrest
and
imprisonment,
he wanted to intervene but there was nothing he could do.
On the
eve of his death, Valentinus wrote a last note to Julia -
knowing his
execution was imminent. Valentinus asked the jailer
for a paper,
pen and ink. He quickly jotted a farewell note and
handed it to
the jailer to give to his blind daughter. He urged her
to stay close
to God, and he signed it 'From Your Valentine.' His
sentence was
carried out the next day, February 14, 270 AD, near
a gate that
was later named Porta Valentini in his memory.
When
the jailer went home, he was greeted by his little girl. The
little girl
opened the note and discovered a yellow crocus inside.
The message
said, 'From your Valentine.' As the little girl looked
down upon the
crocus that spilled into her palm she saw brilliant
colors for
the first time in her life! The girl's eyesight was restored!
A miracle!
He was
buried at what is now the Church of Praxedes in Rome. It
is said that
Julia herself planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near
his grave.
Today,
the almond tree remains a symbol of abiding love and
friendship.
In 496 Pope Gelasius I named February 14 as Saint
Valentine's
Day. On each Valentine's Day, messages of affection,
love and
devotion are still exchanged around the world.
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The following information was sent to us
on February 12, 2004:
The Roman Catholic Church counts at least
eight saints by the name of Valentine, three of them having February 14 as their
feast day. Several of the stories goes like this: The Roman emperor
Claudius II decreed that soldiers could not marry. Around 269 AD, a certain
priest or bishop named Valentine defiantly began marrying couples in secret (by
some accounts, he banned marriage altogether). This of course did not sit well
with Claudius, who had the saint beheaded.
Another tale tells
us of a perhaps different Valentine who was seized by authorities during one of
the periodic Roman persecutions of Christians. He developed a reputation, while
in prison, for great wisdom in counseling the young, especially in matters of
the heart. Further, he is said to have healed the blind daughter of the jailor
-- and fell in love with the girl as well. Valentine, before he was executed,
wrote and passed a short note on to her that read: 'With love, from your
Valentine'. This was the first 'Valentine.'
Valentine was
said to have been beheaded on February 14th, on the eve of the all important
Roman festival called the Lupercalia. This was virtually an erotic carnival, one
of the most ancient Roman festivals, which was celebrated every year in honour
of Lupercus, the god of fertility. The festival was held every year, on
the 15th of February, and goes back to the origins of the Romans as a
shepherding people. The rituals involved the sacrifice of goats (proverbial for
their sexual energy) by noble young men (ditto) who then ate and drank heavily,
clad themselves scantily in the goat skins, from which they also cut long, thin
strips. Holding these thongs in their hands, they ran through the streets of the
city, touching everyone they saw, especially women, who used to gather
voluntarily for the purpose, since they believed that this ceremony rendered
them more fruitful, and procured them an easy delivery in childbearing. The
goat-skin itself was called februum.
The second day of the
Lupercalia celebrations was sacred to the Goddess Juno Februata, Juno the
Fructifier (some derive the title from febris, 'of the fever [of love]'). On
this day, more sedate Roman youths, not interested in being involved in the
lupercalian ceremonies, drew names of young ladies who were to be their
romantic/sexual partners for that evening, (sometimes the couples thus chosen
would continue this patnership for the remainder of the year).
Although the lottery for sexual partners had been banned by the church as
'heathen', the mid-February holiday celebration continued. The church,
unable to stop the practice so enjoyed by young men and women, searched for a
suitable substitute saint to patronize the day. So, Saint Valentine was to
become the chosen saint.
Thus, it became a tradition to give the
beloved and admired one handwritten messages of enamored and romantic intention,
containing St. Valentine's named inscribed within. This served a double purpose,
for to draw the name of a saint would require that the man or woman would
have to emulate that saint's celibate qualities for at least one year. And
instead of honoring a 'pagan' God or Goddess, St. Valentine, a Christian icon,
was honored instead. In this way the Church sought a way to contain all the
youthful erotic energy within the bounds of right-thinking saints' cults. (Yeah,
right :-)) Of course, there is a long history of baptizing pre-Christian
practices; St. Gregory the Great advised his missionary to the pagan English,
Saint Augustine of Kent, not to destroy the pagan temples, but to 'go to the
fanes' so that the converts 'can assemble at the places which they are
accustomed to come to.'
In the middle ages, folklore held
that birds gathered on February 14 to choose their mates for the year. Certain
birds, swans and doves or pigeons, for example, mate for life, and were special
symbols of romantic devotion. Chaucer's 'Parliament of Fowls' takes place on St.
Valentine's day. This was before the separation of the words 'bride' (meaning a
young woman rather than a woman getting married) and 'bird' (which still means
'girl' in somewhat dated and rude British slang). The belief that birds chose
their mates on Saint Valentine's Day came to America with the colonists and
lasted throughout the nineteenth century in the Ozark hill country, where the
people thought not only birds but rabbits began their mating season on February
14.
Valentines as we know them were first created by the
French Duke of Orleans, Charles. They were termed 'amorous addresses.' At the
end of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, Charles was locked up in the Tower of
London where in his free time he sent these 'addresses' to his wife.
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