Valentine’s Day is a special day set aside to express love to a loved one. The day mostly falls on February 14, and this year, Valentine’s Day will be celebrated on Wednesday.
It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine. Saint Valentine was preaching the good word in Rome in the third century.
He was a Roman priest and physician who suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Christians by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus in about 270. He was buried on the Via Flaminia, and Pope Julius I reportedly built a basilica over his grave.
The day was martyred on February 14th, 269, thus giving us the date for his eponymous celebration. After he was killed, Valentine’s remains sat in the Catacombs of San Valentino for a while before moving to Santa Maria in Cosmedin, where he was visited by pilgrims for many years.
In other narratives, St. Valentine was identified as the bishop of Terni, Italy, who was martyred, apparently also in Rome, and whose relics were later taken to Terni. It is possible that these are different versions of the same original account and refer to only one person.
According to legend, St. Valentine signed a letter “from your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and healed from blindness. Another common legend states that he defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from war.
Due to his dedication to supporting and showing people love through folk traditions, it has become a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world.
The 8th-century Gelasian Sacramentary recorded the celebration of the Feast of Saint Valentine on February 14. The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries, when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the “lovebirds” of early spring.
In 18th-century England, it grew into an occasion for couples to express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards.
Today, symbols that are used to represent Valentine’s Day include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. In Italy, Saint Valentine’s keys are given to lovers “as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart,” as well as to children to ward off epilepsy (called Saint Valentine’s Malady).
It is true that on this special day, many are hoping for some quality time with their partner. Valentine’s Day has been named the top occasion where people celebrate by trying new things in the bedroom. It is believed that many couples find their sëx on February 14th more adventurous than normal days.
Though Valentine’s Day is supposed to be the most religious date of the year to express unconditional love following the deeds of Valentine, Today, it’s marked as the most romantic day of the year.
It’s also marked as the third most popular celebration that causes couples to get hot and heavy in the bedroom.
In Ghana, it is the day they express love through the consumption of chocolates and participating in romantic programs to spice up relationships.
It’s mostly reported that on this occasion, a shortage of condoms hit the market, making the celebration more of a sëx day than its intended religious purpose of expressing unconditional love.
Source: Ghana/MaxTV/MaxFM/max.com.gh/Joyceline Natally Cudjoe
