Last Friday (February 14) was celebrated annually as Valentine’s Day, also known as Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine. It originated from honoring Valentine, who was killed for testimony for faith in Jesus.
Numerous later additions to the legend have related it to the theme of love. One maintains that Saint Valentine performed weddings for Christian soldiers who were forbidden to marry by the Roman emperor. The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries. 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 (known as “valentines”). Through later folk traditions, the day has turned out to be a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance and love in many parts of the world.
Among all commemorative days, I think Valentine’s Day is one which lovers spend the most amount of money just on one day. In my home city, a boyfriend or husband usually buys or orders a big bunch of beautiful flowers (mostly roses), books a table at a nice restaurant with a decent atmosphere, and then presents the bunch to his girlfriend or wife. In total, just one night may cost these boyfriends and husbands C$250 and up. Whether others doubt if it’s worthy of doing, lovers don’t really care. Love should anyway be enduring and loyal, lasting more than one day.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 of the New Testament says:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
How many couples can walk hand-in-hand till the end of life? It’s easy to show your love on Valentine’s Day, but keeping loving each other is the test of a life-time!
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