The Legend of Valentine's Day

So, what’s the big deal about Valentine’s Day? Other than the fact that some of the greatest people who have ever lived were born on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, what’s so special about this day? To help find an answer to such a question I consulted that infinite source of knowledge that grows daily on the information highway, “Wikipedia.” This is what Wikipedia had to say about the history of Valentine’s Day, or at least the ones I found most interesting.

“Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery (that means candy laced with sugar, emphasis mine). The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

An alternative theory from Belarus states that the holiday originates from the story of Saint Valentine, who upon rejection by his mistress was so heartbroken that he took a knife to his chest and sent her his still-beating heart as a token of his undying love for her. Hence, heart-shaped cards are now sent as a tribute to his overwhelming passion and suffering” (gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, I give you my heart doesn’t it? Again the emphasis is mine).

I’ve always wished my mom would have given me the middle name “Valentine.” I would have been Bobby Valentine Earls. Kind of has a nice ring to it doesn’t it?

All joking aside, Valentine’s Day is a wonderful day of the year. Its tradition affords us the opportunity to express to those we truly love our appreciation and great love for them. We are given the opportunity to focus on what is really important in life, long, loving, and committed lifetime relationships.

Obviously the most important of all loving relationships we have as Christians is the love we share with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that He loved us with an everlasting love, Jeremiah 31:3. So take time to express your love to those who are close to you, but also, remember to tell the Lord how much you love Him as well.