Valentine’s day…A day for lovers, celebrated with flowers, chocolates, and dinners out at restaurants, all edged in red hearts. The red heart has long been a symbol of romantic love, although a quick google search yields no definitive answer as to why, nor the exact origin of Valentine’s Day.
One theory is based on the life and death of Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the 3rd century after he was beaten and beheaded on February 14th by order of Emperor Claudius II ( AKA Claudius the Cruel, yikes!). Apparently ol’ Claud was having a difficult time maintaining a strong army, and since Rome was involved in many bloody endeavors during his reign, he needed to boost his enlistment campaign. However, he believed that many men were unwilling to join due to their attachment to their families and wives. Naturally, being cruel, he banned all marriages and engagements. Valentine, an apparent lover of justice and believer in love, continued to perform marriages in secret, until his acts of treason were discovered and he was dragged before the Prefect of Rome who condemned him to death. Legend has it that while he was in jail, Valentine left a farewell note signed, “from your Valentine,” to the jailer’s daughter who had become his friend. The priest was martyred for his service after his death.
In addition to St. Valentine’s execution the day before, February 15th was the date of the Feast of Lupercalia, a pagan festival of “love,” which was actually quite a violent and bloody event. It was celebrated with animal sacrifices and random matchmaking in an effort to ward off infertility and evil spirits, until it was eliminated in the 5th century AD by Pope Gelasius I.
There are other theories as to the origin of Valentines day, and other stories of how it has evolved to be the symbol of love it is today, but those two stood out to me the most, because like love itself, they are contradictory. Someone once said, “there is a fine line between love and hate,” and while no one wants to believe that they could hate, even momentarily, the person they love, my husband and I would probably have to admit that we may have had a flash of that emotion a time or two in our 28 year marriage.
The expression, “seeing red,” means that someone is extremely angry, yet I think most people would agree that the color most represented by love is red. Unlike its meek cousin pink, red is bold, vivacious, and passionate. Red is alive, just like a thriving relationship. Red is rage and heat, fury and fervor unlike the emotionless blue of cool indifference. There is no one in this world who can piss me off like my Valentine, and no one who can make me laugh as much either. Because of this, I’d say that regardless of the reason for Valentines day, a red heart represents the day, and our relationship best. Sometimes it pounds in anger, sometimes it swells with pride, sometimes it skips a beat, and sometimes it drums on unnoticed in the background. But, no matter the emotion or circumstance, it goes on.
