_0:02 - Valentines Day
The historychannel.com and theparagon.ORG have come together this Valentines Day to explain to you why we celebrate this holiday.
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Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday?
What did you do this Valentines Day?
Add to the discussion.
Aaron, personally, I am a little dissapointed. You told us the history of St. Valentine, but you failed to mention how the current holiday is nothing more than a consumer holiday.
Shame on you!
Aaron, personally, I am a little dissapointed. You told us the history of St. Valentine, but you failed to mention how the current holiday is nothing more than a consumer holiday.
Shame on you!
Hey … I got Kermit, lets leave Valentines at that.
Aren’t all holidays a consumer holiday??
Open your wallets before your accused as a terrorist.
I’d like to think that there are still a couple of holidays that still contain a little authenticity.
I’m probably just a little naive… . .
Anyone can make any holiday commercial. but only with your permission.
=)
I’ll agree that alot of of our holiday’s have been commercialized. However - I do very much respect other holidays as being a part of my faith.
Again - even that can be looked at in 2 ways. I celebrate Christmas as the day Jesus was born. Many, many others celebrate it only for the gifts and see it only as a time of giving.
There’s nothing wrong with those things - but for me personally it’s more rooted.
However Valentines Day was completely set up by commercializm.
Your christmas (dec 25) isn’t even a true christian holiday.
MacMillan Compact Encyclopedia says:
“In the West it [Christmas] has been celebrated on 25 Dec since 336 AD, partly in order to replace the non-Christian sun worship on the same date.”
The New EncyclopÊdia Britannica, states:
“December 25, the birthday of Mithra, the Iranian god of light and … the day devoted to the invincible sun, as well as the day after Saturnalia, was adopted by the [Roman Catholic] church as Christmas, the nativity of Christ, to counteract the effects of these festivals.”
In Christmas and Its Customs, Christina Holes tells us:
“It was the policy of the early [Roman Catholic] Church to transform pagan festivals wherever possible instead of trying to abolish them, and by giving ancient practices a Christian significance, to purify and preserve for the new faith whatever was innocent and deeply-loved in the old. In the yet-unconverted world of the fourth century, December 25 was already a sacred day for thousands of people throughout the Roman Empire. It was Dies Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun.”
Gyles Brandreth writes in The Christmas Book:
“Practically every country in the world, from China to India, from South America to the Middle East, held celebrations at this time of year … It was not until the fourth century that Pope Julius I declared that December 25 should be celebrated as the birthday of Jesus Christ, and Christmas as we know it began. We now celebrate Christmas every year, with a little bit of pagan superstition, a Norse Yule log, Druid candles, a drop of wine from Saturnalia, and a feast from the winter solstice.”
::Now of course it really doesn’t matter what day you celebrate Jesus’s birth if your a believer.
Next christmas season walk through the mall , read the paper , involve yourself in any media (for 10 minutes) and find how non-commercial christmas has become.
okay… so maybe the date isn’t historically correct. I don’t think that is really the issue at hand here.
The problem is that holidays aren’t holidays until you buy something. Or so they tell me.
Christ, this discussion is way out of hand- so I will get back on topic. On valentines day I stayed online, pipe dreamed about women, and worked on my new openbsd server, appropriately named “eeyore”.
Haha - you would name your openbsd server “eeyore” - lol. and thanks for bringing everyone’s focus back to what I origionally wrote.
I myself didn’t do all that much. I got Jodi some roses and a Kermit the frog. I also downloaded “A Walk to Remeber” for her. She read the book and loved the movie. It’s still in theaters if any of you want to see it. It’s a crying movie though - so bring you tissues.
I saw that movie- please view my weblog for a very lengthy review: it is toward the bottom- at the beginning of the month. ;)
May god bless all of you people and homeless people need help to and if i cold i would help the homeless folks for Christmas too.
Aarons happy woman Says:
I got Kermit the frog :)
I love valentines