Most people look forward to receiving gifts from their loved ones on Valentine's day.
But, did you know that St.Valentine day remains a mystery to this date, that even historians cannot pinpoint to its origin?
Valentine’s day is an old tradition believed to have originated from a Roman festival; Lupercalia - a date night.
This was a romantic ritual of goat sacrifice, ensued by naked men whipping women with the parts of a bloody goat to improve fertility as depicted in the series, Rome during the Roman Republic era.
As Rome adopted Christianity, the festival was changed into honouring St. Valentine, by Pope Gelasius I in 5th C. Where he later combined the Valentine day with Lupercalia to ‘remove’ pagan rituals.
It is believed that St. Valentine was a priest, later sainted by the Catholic Church as a martyr after he was killed by Claudius II for secretly marrying Christian couples.
Emperor Claudius II believed that single men would make good soldiers compared to married ones who would not dedicate their service to the Roman empire as ‘worries and fears of losing their loved ones’ choked their concerted efforts.
As a result, the emperor outlawed marriage, a thing that was secretly endorsed by Valentine, though it is said that the Emperor beheaded two men of the same name (a priest and a bishop) on February 14, in the 3rd C. after death.
But, with the changing times and commercialisation, Valentine has become a day to make profits for traders, for some, it is a day to sway your partner into a date night.
While to others, it is a day to remind them the need to forget singleness, and to the rest, Valentine's day is an annual reminder of drunken erotic dating back to ancient Rome.
The romantic missives; this was Valentine’s last words he wrote to Asterius’ daughter, a young girl he had fallen in love with while in prison.
The letter read: "From your Valentine."
Thus, with the enigma surrounding this day, I chose not to write Valentine's letter, but as 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 states that you are the letter written and sealed by the Holy Spirit to be read by others through your life.
That’s the letter I unveil to you on the enigma surrounding Valentine's day.