Love itself holds something extraordinary special aspect to it. The month of Feburary is known as the month of love and affection. Yet it contains history and background of its own. Valentine’s Day is celebrated by millions around the world to make their love one feel special, love fills the sky, red is seen everywhere and bows, arrows and hearts are hanging on the ceiling. Love can be defined as:
‘A feeling of strong attachment induced by that which delights or commands admiration; preeminent kindness or devotion to another; affection; tenderness; as, the love of brothers and sisters.’
Valentine’s Day is merely an arbitrary day that people use as luminosity hearted way to express their feelings to their partners; it is also true that this day sustains the myth that all couples are happy. Without intending to bash this “feel-good” day, after all, people benefit from an expression of love, it seems that Valentines Day may be more widely accepted if it was truly a day for love. Not just romantic love between couples, but love in all of its forms.
Yet the history of Valentine`s Day is as well full of confusion. As it has two extreme sides of it:
St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named “Valentinus”. The most popular martyrology associated with Saint Valentine was that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire; during his imprisonment, he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer Asterius. Legend states that before his execution he wrote "from your Valentine" as a farewell to her. Today, Saint Valentine's Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion
In the Lutheran Church The Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrates Saint Valentine's Day, albeit on July 6th and July 30th, the former date in honor of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and the latter date in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni).
Many people who find themselves alone on this day, struggle with past hurts, grief, and feelings of inadequacy. While they are bombarded with images of happy couples, it is important that they remember that their identity is not defined by their relationship status.
While your friends might be buying flowers for their partners, consider the people in your world that could be your parents, siblings, close friends or other relatives. Random acts of kindness can bring a surprisingly wonderful sense of well-being. One can spend a time might be helpful to spend time with friends or family - people with whom you have already been. It could be a time to focus on what you have, rather than on what you feel you’re missing.
Even if we are not even born yet, our parents and God already love us. Even if our heart breaks, our parents and God are there to comfort and love us until the wounds of our heart is healed. Even if our parents die and no one’s there for you, our parents together with God in heaven will be there to love you, though you can’t see them, you must know that they’re always there.
The above mentioned facts on their side but there are certain questions that I have in my mind. Why just this one day to celebrate ‘love or affection’? Why we make special arrangements for this day and forget about it the rest of the year? Love and be loved, a simple rule to be applied in our everyday life. The poorest person on earth gives love and prayers, it even exceeds that of the most powerful man on earth, and why is that? People are blinded by power and wealth but the darkest path can be illuminated by love, so the only thing the poorest person can hold to is love, love given by God and others around him, love given by nature to warm him in coldest night and give him shade on the hottest days, and that is way better than power and wealth.
Why should you give love only on Valentine’s Day when you can love everyday to be loved and be one of the happiest people on earth. Surely, people have their own views and motto upon this day. But for me, every day should a day of ‘love and affection’, giving extreme love shouldn’t only happen in one day, it must be done 24 hours a day 7 days a week 52 weeks a year or simply everyday.
Written by: Tayyaba Khushi
Labels: Facts
