Pod Prep: Are We Being Forced to participate in the Rampant Commercialism of Valentine’s Day?
THE MERCHANTS AND THE MEDIA ARE HERDING US TOWARD RAMPANT MATERIALISM
Is too much materialism good for society? We know it is not. People are drowning in debt and getting lost in a world where everyone demands more and more and are never satisfied. Note Luke 12:19-23, 30-31 where God tells us not to desire overly those things that do not satisfy. Mankind’s inner being is made to need a closer relationship with God. That is our ultimate purpose and destiny. Instead build an account in heaven.
GET OUT OF THE PAGAN BASED MATERIALISTIC MERRY GO ROUND AND KEEP GOD’S SPIRITUAL HOLIDAYS
This world is on a materialistic round wheel of big commercial days, examples, Valentine’s Day and Halloween etc. People feel forced to spend and spend on a cycle of days. They are spiritually hollow and have an even darker component. The holidays of God that are in the Bible will edify and build up the body of Christ. We are commanded to emphasize and worship God on those days. For example, the New Testament Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread illustrate the need for humility, sincerity and truth. They remind us of the deep love and sacrifice of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the ultimate Lamb of God. See I Cor 5:6-8.
These verses were written to New Covenant Gentile Christians years after Jesus had died and been resurrected. Therefore these verses apply to us as well as New Testament Christians.
THE DARK AND PAGAN ORIGINS OF VALENTINES DAY
National Public Radio, (NPR) in a piece called, Of Candy and Cupids, says Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. But the origins of this festival are actually dark, bloody and are a muddled mixture of paganism (Roman to be exact) and Catholic doctrine. The pagan Roman Emperor Claudius executed two men by the name of Valentine on Feb. 14 on different years in the 3rd century A.D. They later were made saints. Though no one has pinpointed the exact origin of the holiday, one good place to start is ancient Rome, where men hit on women by, well, hitting them. Thus the origin of the term ‘hitting on ‘women was probably born.
Those Wild Paganized and Crazy Romans
From Feb. 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain. The Roman romantics "were drunk and naked “. Young women would actually line up for the men to hit them. They believed this would make them fertile.
The brutal celebration included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men drew the names of women from a jar. The couple would then be coupled up for the duration of the festival or longer, if the match was right. The ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of our modern day of love. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day. Later, Pope Gelasius I muddied the waters, in the 5th century, by combining St. Valentine's Day with the Festival of Lupercalia (wolves), to cover up the paganism. The Christians tried to clean it up. That didn't stop it from being a day of fertility and love."
God said that it is a snare to copy the paganism of the world around us. See Deut 12:30-31. Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? Even so will I do likewise? 31 Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
Shakespeare in Love (NPR)
As the years went on, the holiday grew sweeter. Chaucer and Shakespeare romanticized it in their work, and it gained popularity throughout Britain and the rest of Europe. Handmade paper cards became the tokens-du-jour in the middle Ages.
Eventually, the tradition made its way to the New World. The industrial revolution ushered in factory-made cards in the 19th century. And in 1913, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Mo., began mass producing valentines. February has not been the same since. Today, the holiday is big business: According to market research firm IBIS World, Valentine's Day sales reached $17.6 billion last year; this year's sales are expected to total $18.6 billion. And so the celebration of Valentine's Day goes on, in varied ways. Many will feel forced to break the bank buying jewelry and flowers for their beloveds.
