Valentine's Day 2015 - February has always been dubbed as the "Month of Love." It is the time of the year where lots of chocolates, flowers and other lovely gifts are sold. The tradition started in 17th century and in many countries, it is a time for couples to go on dates to celebrate the joy of their relationship. For single people, they wish to find a "valentine."
But why are we celebrating "Valentine's Day?" According to History.com, it is celebrated to honor St. Valentine. For the Catholic Church, St. Valentine's Day or The Feast of Saint Valentine started as a liturgical celebration to glorify one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus.
Based on the facts presented by The Holiday Spot, Christians recognize at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. The history of Valentine's Day is incomprehensible and further clouded by various fanciful legends. But it is derived in an ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration commemorated annually every Feb. 15.
However, the pagan festival was recast by Pope Gelasius I as a Christian feast day circa 496, which declared Feb. 14 as St. Valentine's Day, Infoplease.com informed.
As the annual tradition was modernized, Valentine's Day is generally celebrated in association with "Love."
How do we define Love? How do you make it stay? How can it turn into hate? How can you love more than one person in a lifetime? Does true love exist? These are some of the abstract questions poets and philosophers have contemplated through the years. Yet no one really knows.
In short, love is complicated. Love hurts. And love manifests itself in many forms. As written by J.J. Colagrande through The Huffington Post, love can be kind, generous, friendly, stable and reliable. It can be selfless, endless or deeply spiritual. Love can be faithful, forgiving, passionate, and lustful.
But love has a dark side. It is irrational. If love inspires many things it can also destroy.
"Love is a monster," Colagrande said. "Fortunately, the monster can be tamed."
Whether we find love or not, Valentine's Day has only one message - to spread love. For Princess Diana once said, "The biggest disease the world suffers from in this day and age is the disease of people feeling unloved."
So, spread some love this Valentine's Day!
