by eturo
Kasi "Araw na naman ng mga Puso", madami sa atin ang naghahanda para i-celebrate ito. Karamihan sa mga lalaki tulad ko ay nagpupursiging mag-ipon ng pera, kayod dito, kayod doon para lang makapag-ipon ng limpak-limpak na salapi para may pambili ng heart balloons, teddy bear with hearts, heart candies and tsokoleyts (sarap naman), at syempre hindi mawalala ang rose flowers na kulay red (syempre). Pero guys, alam niyo ba kung saan at kelan nagmula ang Valentine's Day or "Araw ng mga Puso"? So, here is an article from wisegeek.com about the origin of this popular celebration.
Valentine's Day has been celebrated
as a romantic holiday since the 14th century, although mid-February has
been a traditional time to celebrate love and fertility for much longer.
The exact origins of Valentine's Day are actually somewhat unclear, and the situation is made more complicated by the fact that there are no less than three Saint Valentines, none of whom can be easily associated with love. The most accepted explanation for the origins of Valentine's Day is that it has its roots in pagan fertility festivals, which often took place at the close of winter.
In
ancient times, many cultures celebrated a fertility festival in
mid-February. In Rome, the festival came to be known as Lupercalia, and
it included festive parades through the streets with an assortment of
pagan symbols. During Lupercalia, men and women would draw tokens with
random names on each of them to pair off for games and exchanges of
gifts.
The Christian church frowned on the pagan and erotic nature of
Lupercalia, and tried to institute a more staid festival to celebrate St. Valentine, although since all three Valentines were martyred on 14 February, it's unclear which one was meant to be celebrated. The practice of instituting a Saint's Day
on a popular pagan holiday was quite common, so that converts could
celebrate their new faith on traditional festival days. The question of
which St. Valentine is meant to be celebrated cannot be resolved. One of
the men cured the sick, another was imprisoned and tortured for his
Christian beliefs, and the history of the third Saint Valentine is not
known. Some scholars suspect that the first two are actually the same
man, and in later years the myth that St. Valentine secretly married couples who were ineligible for matrimony was added.
Citizens were not terribly enthused about celebrating yet another Saint's Day, and Valentine's Day
began to evolve into a celebration of love and marriage. The tradition
of exchanging cards and tokens was continued, and during the height of
courtly love, people began to select their own Valentine's mates.
Couples exchanged Valentine's cards and gifts with each other, and
Valentine's Day began to appear frequently in love poetry. The first written link of Valentine's Day
and love was provided by Chaucer, who wrote a love poem to commemorate
the engagement of Richard II and Anne of Bohemia which linked the
pairing off of birds with the royal engagement and Valentine's Day.
The elaborate exchanges of poetry, cards, and gifts on Valentine's Day cemented it as a holiday for the celebration of love in European popular culture. Valentine's Day
has since spread all over the world, and many nations celebrate love on
the 14th of February with flowers, gifts, and cards. It is one of the
largest selling days for greeting card companies, as most lovers no
longer make their own cards. In nations such as India where
relationships between unmarried men and women are not encouraged, lovers
often celebrate Valentine's Day secretly with stealthy meetings and gift exchanges.
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Share love this Valentine's Day. Love one another ika nga basta huwag lang sobra, dahil ang sobrang pagmamahal ay NAKAKAMATAY! lol
