DO PAGAN ROOTS EXIST OR ARE THEY JUST A TRADITION ?
If the day is just another thinly disguised pagan rebrand from the Roman Empire, then what are the warnings a true believer must consider? Maybe it is traditions ONLY?
Deuteronomy 12:30-32, “…take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them…do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' 31 You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods…32 Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”
God demanded of His people not to follow any of the attractive things from the pagans they were replacing. They were not to add anything to the worship of God. The other danger Valentine's Day might pose to some is the pull of the mighty marketing machinery of modern commerce. Some will be pushed or enticed to over-spend on Valentines's Day, hurdling further into credit card debt. This idolatry violates the of putting anything like materialism before God.
Luke 12:29-31, “And do not seek…nor have an anxious mind. 30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.”
This world is on a materialistic round wheel of big commercial days, like Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Christmas, etc. These are spiritually hollow and have an even darker past. The Holy Days of God that are in the Bible will edify and build up the body of Christ. They remind us of the deep love and sacrifice of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the ultimate Lamb of God.
1 Corinthians 5:6-8, “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
THE MYSTERIOUS AND PAGAN ORIGINS OF VALENTINES DAY
Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance and love –– and CANDY. But the origins of this festival are actually a muddled mixture of paganism (Roman to be exact) and Catholic stories and traditions. According to the limited historical details, the pagan Roman Emperor Claudius executed two men by the name Valentine on February 14 (on different years). They later were made into a saint. The legend was combined to one man. They became “St.Valentine.” Why was St. Valentine killed? There are a few different accounts of why he was killed, but later his death was ultimately tied to the religious persecution of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
Legend says that a priest, Valentine, was captured and then cured the blindness of his captor’s daughter. The family had agreed to convert to Christianity if this miracle occurred, which angered Claudius II, who ordered the execution of Valentine and the family.
Another account suggests that when Claudius II outlawed marriage for young men in order to build a stronger army, Valentine resisted. Claudius believed that single men made better soldiers, so he banned marriages. St. Valentine continued to marry young couples against the emperor’s orders. When he was caught, he was executed.
There was also a St. Valentine who was a bishop in Terni, Italy. Some accounts suggest he was martyred and details of his life and death overlap with the St. Valentine of Rome story. Some scholars believe the records are about the same person rather than two men named Valentine.
It’s very hard to know whether those stories are true. Outside of his name, the real Saint Valentine remains much of a mystery to this day. The story goes on to say Valentine was also imprisoned for marrying off soldiers of the Roman army. Valentine would not be canonized as a saint for another 200-plus years. The Roman Catholic church canonized him in 496 AD. While his feast day was made official on February 14, it wasn’t until 1969 that it was removed from the General Roman Calendar under Pope Paul VI due to a lack of reliable information. Despite this, it is still a recognized and widely celebrated holiday today.
Jeremiah 10:2, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;”
Keeping even cute pagan traditions like Easter Eggs and Valentine candy are forbidden as part of worshiping the true God.
THOSE WILD AND CRAZY PAGANS
Though no one has pinpointed the exact origin of the holiday, one good place to start is the ancient Roman festival where men hit on women by literally hitting them. The origin of the term “hitting on women” was born. From Feb. 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia (meaning wolf). 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 revelry during the festival.
Jeremiah 44:25..”You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely keep our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.’”
Verse 26, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord…27 ‘Behold, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good…’”
Judah lost God's protection for worshiping the fertility Goddess, the “Queen of Heaven.” Valentine is responsible for the name of our modern day of love. His martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine’s Day. Later, Pope Gelasius in the 5th century combined St. Valentine’s Day with the Festival of Lupercalia to cover up the paganism of it all, but it was still a day of fertility-love which is related to the goddess.
Jeremiah 7:18, “They gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger.”
The Lupercalia festival was a part of the worship of the goddess of fertility. God tells us that it is a snare to copy the paganism of the world around us.
As the years went on, the holiday grew sweeter. Chaucer and Shakespeare romanticized it in their works 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, Missouri began mass producing Valentine cards. February has not been the same since.
Today, the holiday is big business: According to market research, Valentine's Day sales reached $27.5 billion last year; and will increase. 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 beloved partner.
