I still say, “Happy Saint Valentine’s
Day”, instead of “Happy Valentine’s Day”, because I think there should be a
difference between a made-up Hallmark Holiday like “Bacon Appreciation Day”, or
“Hug a Goat Day” and a day that is dedicated to a Martyr. I am
not religious by any stretch of the imagination other than that needling faith
of a Catholic School childhood I feel poking me in the stomach. I’ve come to my
own belief system I’m comfortable with and it’s none of your business what it
is. I wouldn’t ever try to convert anyone to my perspective on religion. That’s
what martyrs are for.
Martyrs like Saint Valentine had
the audacity of their faith and stubbornly refused to renounce it even in the
face of unimaginable torture, death and postmortem violations. So sure, I
think anyone with that sort of will, steadfastness and the integrity of their
principals should be able to have a celebratory day and not have it mocked as a
Hallmark cash cow. Obviously, there is
money to be made on Valentines and greeting cards, candy hearts and edible lingerie
and I know that those things have practically nothing to do with martyrdom. (Although,
I’m not sure about the edible lingerie to be honest. That might actually be a
Vatican approved miracle.) Yet, as long
as the day is supposed to be about loving one another, I’m sort of okay with
the commercialism of this day of celebration for a martyr.
I do believe though, the
commercialism should not eliminate the Saint part. It is almost as if corporations
and those that stand to acquire profitability are trying to erase a part of
history. A history that is of course subject to the perspectives of modern
times. Sure, the actions of Christianity and the Catholic Church have not
always been stellar. I certainly condemn a lot of what has been done in the
name of religion. I don’t believe that by removing the Saint part we are
absolving ourselves from the basis of the holiday. (Although there are
allegedly no less than three recognized St. Valentines’ by the Catholic Church;
so, who’s to say really?)
My long-winded point is: I’m not
a historical revisionist. I am someone who believes there were indeed things in
human history that should not be white-washed. By that logic, I have to remind
us of the Pagan history of the holiday and that it was probably co-opted by the
Catholics. But that’s sort of off my true point of which I’m only getting to
now, so if you’ve hung on this long, thanks!
I just want people to love each
other. There’s so much opportunity to be honest, direct and kind to each other
that we almost take it for granted. A day that effectively celebrates love is a
good thing and should not necessarily be mocked outright. I know that St.
Valentine’s Day can be a real bummer, especially for the single folks like me.
Nothing says you’re alone on St. Valentine’s Day like millions of commercials,
songs, jewelry ad placements and the general joy of couples dining out over
candles and hastily prepared entrees at a once a year fancy restaurant. It
almost screams to be ridiculed and yet I think we should resist that urge to
crap all over it, call it commercialism and try to push it from the collective.
Love is pretty great when you have it, painful when you don’t and just okay
when you’re not even really sure what the hell you’re supposed to do with it.
As you try to get through this
essay and go out tonight with your loved one(s), don’t let anybody tell you
that St. Valentine’s Day is just a commercial gimmick to get you to buy Teddy
Bears and chocolates (that’s Hump a Bear Day in November). You remind those romance haters it is a
co-opted Religious Holiday stretching back through human time, perhaps 270 AD,
and not just some greeting card company’s greedy money grab. St. Valentine’s
Day has been special to generations of people, even before the Hallmarks and
the heart-shaped box of utterly disgusting candies. It was something your
ancestors, even just a few generations ago, likely looked forward to. A day in
their hectic slaughterhouse lives that they could stop for a few moments to
love and feel loved.
So, Happy Saint Valentine’s Day.
I hope it is indeed filled with the love you want, the love you need and the
love that buoys your soul in troubled times.
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