Happy Valentine’s Day!
On Saturday, the International Women’s Club in Bishkek organized a Valentine’s Day Ball in the Hyatt. I didn’t go, because:
a) I didn’t know about it … (so they need to look at their marketing … usually they write to everyone and approach us for sponsorship or prizes for the raffle but this time we heard nothing), and
b) I am still recovering from my bout of the flu … (On Friday night I saw one of the organizers who said that had two seats still available on their table and I was welcome to join them, but I declined as I was still not feeling 100%).
Saint Valentine’s Day is celebrated by people around the world on February 14th. I am not certain, however, when the Orthodox Church commemorates the saint’s day, (or even if they recognize Valentine as a Saint), but if they did then and they used the same day of the year, then they would presumably commemorate it on February 27th, (which would be February 14th according to the old Julian Calendar).
Valentine’s Day is, however, not without some controversy. In many countries which are Christian, either nominally or otherwise, the day has lost much of it’s religious signifance and is basically a part of cultural or social tradition. A day on which lovers traditionally express their affection for each other by sending “Valentine’s cards” and/or giving small gifts of flowers or confectionery.
As it Saint’s day, it commemorates an early Christian martyr, although details about the original St Valentine are clouded in mystery and legend. There were seven martyrs recognized by the Roman Church called Valentine, and the Orthodox Church venerates some others as well), although the name is not included in the earliest list of martyrs. The feast day was not inaugurated until 496AD. Even then, the Pope admitted that he was one of those early saints, “… whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God”. Amongst the Valentines that appear in the annals of the early church are a priest in Rome, a bishop in Italy, (who is, incidentally, also honoured by the Orthodox Church – but on a different Saint’s Day – July 30th), a Spanish hermit and a martyr who met his death in one of Rome’s African provinces.
The traditional account holds that Valentine was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of the Emperor Claudius II, known as Claudius Gothicus, sometime around 270AD. Christians were undergoing one of the periodic periods of persecution at the hands of the Roman authorities and Valentine was caught marrying Christian couples in contradiction to a law commanding that young men remain single, and otherwise ministering to his local community. He was arrested and imprisoned. The emperor, in person, conducted the interrogation, trying to get Valentine to renounce his faith and apparently took a liking to this prisoner … until, that is, Valentine tried to convert him to Christianity, which resulted in the saint being condemned. He was beaten with clubs, stoned and, when that didn’t finish him off, beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate, north of Rome, and buried nearby on February 14 – hence the association with the date.
Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer.
When the Catholic Church revised the ecclesiastical calendar in 1969, St Valentine’s Day, along with a number of other saint’s days which were subject to some “doubt”, was relegated to the division of feast days which are recognized locally rather than universally – for example in Balzan, in Malta, which claims to have some relics of the saint.
.
St. Valentine’s Day has become associated with the concept of romantic love. This association dates from the Middle Ages, when the tradition of “courtly love” flourished. There are references to the story of Valentine in the works of Bede, Geoffrey Chaucer and the Legenda Aurea, (Golden Legend). One account, in versions of the Legenda Aurea, tells how, on the evening before he was to be executed, Valentine wrote the first “valentine” himself, addressed to a young girl (identified either as his beloved, or as the jailer’s daughter whom he had befriended and healed, … or both), – a note that read “From your Valentine.”
The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain and, for example, the practice is mentioned by Elizabeth Gaskell in “Mr. Harrison’s Confessions” which was first published in 1851.
Since the 19th century, however, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. In 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on a British card that she had received. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th century America, where many Valentine cards are now general greeting cards rather than declarations of love, is an early example of the commercialization of holidays. (The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year … after Christmas.)
Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid – an image from ancient Greek mythology … which may seem odd given the Christian connotations associated with the origin of the holiday.
The Christian origins of the holiday are the basis for some of the controversy surrounding the day. In addition to the slight implied in the Vatican’s demotion of the day from the Ecclesiastical calendar, there have been protests and prohibitions in various places around the world – from Hindu fundamentalists in India, and from Muslim fundamentalists in places like Iran and Saudi Arabia.
.
In Kyrgyzstan:
The day is not an official holiday, but has become popular, especially amongst younger people. I am told that it was never a “holiday” in Soviet times and has only recently been marked. It is sometimes referred to as St. Valentine’s Day but it is also known as Dehn Vlublyonnik: Lovers’ Day.
It is commonly marked, as in the West, by the exchange of cards and small gifts, such as chocolates, and flower shops, (in particular), do a roaring trade as young men can be seen leaving with bunches of flowers for their sweethearts. The cake shop next door, for example, sports a special banner congratulating shoppers with the holiday – and presumably providing them with a gentle reminder so that they can buy confectionary and cakes for their beloved.
Restaurants and discotheques may organize special decorations, menus or events to commemorate the occasion – such as the Valentine’s Day Ball.
Bishkek