Very soon all loving hearts will celebrate the day of St. Valentina. I decided to find out where he came from this holiday, and whether it is possible to celebrate the Orthodox people.
Tradition celebrate communication. Valentine appeared for a long time. That's just before the start mindlessly recognized his soul mate in love on this day, and give valentines, should still understand how the custom appeared.
A little history
If you dig around in Christian literature, you can find just three saints named Valentine who died for their faith. One Valentine was killed in Carthage with fellow believers, and how much information there is none of it. Another Valentine was a bishop in Interamna, he was executed at the persecution of Christians. Valentine was a third elder, killed and buried at the Via Flaminia road.
Pope Gelasius in the end of V century, decided to recall some of the martyrs, and including Valentine's Day. And now even you can not see exactly what it is Valentine mentioned, perhaps all at one time.
So where did the tradition of celebrating the day of St. Valentine?
Chronologically, the remembrance of Valentine's Day coincided with one of the pagan celebrations that have been banned by the same father. But this was a simple early Christian practice, because on the same principle were chosen Christmas celebration of St. John the Baptist, and even the birth of Christ. The Church tried to make sense of the old Christian holidays. Incidentally accurately say that the celebration of the day of St. Valentine - a replacement for the Lupercalia, you can not. But this festival falls exactly on February 15. If you delve into history, we can talk a little bit about this celebration. On this day Luperci bring their god in sacrifice a dog and two goats. After that, two young guys coated with sacrificial blood, and the fun begins. Luperci dressed in the skins of dead animals and whipped everyone who ran past the belts from the skins. Some girls even stripped naked and tried to get under the belt blows, because it was thought that it would give them fertility and ease childbirth.
But Lupercalia was a local festival, and the memory of St. Valentine was installed on the church-wide scale. Also, while a festival of Juno-ochistitelnitsy, in this day and "put" to celebrate the day of St. Valentine, as a memory of the tragically deceased martyr. It turns out, nothing to do with the love feast does not have! Over time, the name of St. Valentina begins to be mentioned in various writings and churches, and combining the two martyrs who died immediately.
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A Love Song for Bobby Long?
Now it is assumed that St. Valentin Private married lovers, but it is nowhere written before 1382. But the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer mentioned in the verses that Valentine's Day birds sought out a mate. And this is the truth, because the celebration is at the end of winter, when nature begins to awaken, and all life is experiencing cravings for love and affection. And these words of the poet very quickly picked up and spread around the world. In later editions of literature indicates that in the old days in Scotland and England in the Valentine's Day girl was placed in a container notes with their names, and the guys were getting their turn. The girl, whose name was written on a piece of paper, stretched a certain man, became for the following year his "Valentina", and he is her "Valentine".
"Valentine"
If we again delve into the history, the first valentine is a letter from the prison of the Duke of Orleans to his wife Carla. And this note was not in the shape of a heart, it is only over time, people strapped word "Valentine" for the holiday of lovers.
Modern Valentine's Day
The Catholic Church of St. name. Valentine was eventually abolished, since specific information about any of these martyrs do not. But the Orthodox Church celebrates the day of St. Valentine, and twice - in July (the elder) and in August (the bishop). And nothing in love all these holidays do not have, and for the emergence of romantic overtones to the writings of the martyrs we are grateful to the writers of the Middle Ages. In addition, more than 40 years February 14 is celebrated the day of St. Cyril and Methodius.
Summarizing all the above, we can conclude:
• Valentine's Day - it's a way that "woven" from the lives of two people.
• Nothing to do with the love of this holy is not.
• There is a day of St. Valentine, but it is not February 14.
• Holiday can celebrate as unbelievers and believers, because this is another reason to please your loved one. It is only important not to make the celebration a large-scale event, which comes to the madness!
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