Truth behind some other so-called Christian occasions

Part 1

The month of February was the period of ancient Pagan immoral rituals, so why certain occasions which originated based on those pagan traditions have been marked as "Christian", in the Christian calendar?!

"The occasion which today is known as Saint Valentine's Day is the Eve of Lupercalia, the Pagan Roman festival of fertility. In fact, the 14th of February was the day specially set aside for love lotteries in Pagan Rome. A holiday devoted to Juno, Queen of the gods, and patroness of marriage, the 14th was also the day on which young girls' names were written on slips of paper and thrown into jars to be picked out by the boys. Chooser and chosen would then be partnered for the duration of the Lupercalia festival. Such arbitrary pairings often resulted in lasting relationships." (Dr Leo Ruickbie)

"Lupercalia or Wolf Festival, of which many write that it was anciently celebrated by shepherds, and has also some connection with the Arcadian Lycaea. At this time many of the noble youths and of the magistrates run up and down through the city naked, for sport and laughter striking those they meet with shaggy thongs. And many women of rank also purposely get in their way, and like children at school present their hands to be struck, believing that the pregnant will thus be helped in delivery, and the barren to pregnancy. This tradition itself may have survived (Christianised, and shifted to spring) in certain ritual Easter Monday whippings." (The Wikipedia Encyclopedia)

In ancient Rome, the Pagan principles of the newly Christianed people proved irrepressible; so the Church decided to Christianize the occasions. Thus a martyred saint was chosen and eventually this is what has happened …:

The Wikipedia states that: "Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (Valentinus Presbyter m. Romae) (a priest martyred at third century AD) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae) (a priest martyred at third century AD)". But the Oxford Dictionary of Saints, s.v. states, "Valentine: The Acts (Acta Sanctorum) of both are unreliable, and the Bollandists assert that these two Valentines were in fact one and the same".

"No romantic elements are present in the original early medieval biographies of either of these martyrs. By the time a Saint Valentine became linked to romance in the fourteenth century, distinctions between Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni were utterly lost." The Wikipedia states further.

" … Apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14." (Calendarium Romanum ex Decreto Sacrosancti Œcumenici Concilii Vaticani II Instauratum Auctoritate Pauli PP. VI Promulgatum (Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, MCMLXIX), p. 117 (Pre-Vatican II Calendar))

The Golden Legend (Latin: Legenda Aurea or Legenda Sanctorum) is a collection of fanciful hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that became a late medieval bestseller. It was probably compiled around the year 1260.

In the Legenda Aurea's version of the legend, St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed.

Wikipedia continues: "Legenda Aurea still providing no connections whatsoever with sentimental love, appropriate lore has been embroidered in modern times to portray Valentine as a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to Roman Emperor Claudius, allegedly ordering that young men remain single. The Emperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers; the priest Valentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men; when Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine arrested and thrown in jail. In an embellishment to The Golden Legend provided by "American Greetings, Inc." to History.com and widely repeated, on the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he wrote the first "valentine" himself, addressed to a young girl variously identified as his beloved. ('The History of Valentine's Day' History.com)"

"Lupercalia combined with folklore beliefs in Britain and France that the 14th of February marked the beginning of the mating season amongst birds to ensure that this day would persist in the popular imagination as a day of love." (Dr Leo Ruickbie)

"Despite such early precedents, St Valentine's Day did not become a widely celebrated event in Britain until the 17th century. Printed cards did not appear until the late 18th century, but it was not until the 1840's that Esther A. Howland entered the history books as the first person to sell the first mass-produced Valentine cards in the United States. The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain, and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models … It's considered one of the Hallmark holidays." (Wikipedia)

This is how the Encyclopedia defines hallmark holiday: "Hallmark holiday is a disparaging term, used predominantly in the United States, to describe a holiday that is perceived to exist primarily for commercial purposes, rather than to commemorate a traditionally significant religious or secular event. The name comes from Hallmark Cards, a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri, that benefits from such manufactured events through sales of greeting cards and other items."

The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide.

Now it is quite clear why the "American Greeting Inc." actually added the following fictitious and imaginatively produced addition to the story of Valentine as mentioned above: "In an embellishment to The Golden Legend provided by "American Greetings, Inc." to History.com and widely repeated, on the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he wrote the first "valentine" himself …"

True love is sacred, it is the Allah-Bestowed pure love of Allah Himself and His Chosen Ones, those Chosen to lead humankind to Everlasting Bliss; and this True love is manifested by the obedience of the Most Loving Allah through the love and obedience of the most loving creations of Allah, the Prophets and their Successors (PBUT), and foremost, the most loving of them all, the Masters of all creations, Mohammad and his AhlulBayt (PBUT). We cordially invite you to read the article "True love" in this site, kindfather.com

A sincere and pure love between a man and a woman stems from that same True love; a benevolent, responsible, pleasant and practical love which nurtures generations of humankind, a love which is bestowed by Allah Himself; let us not forget that Allah -Glory be to He- has revealed:

Qur'an 30:21 And among His (Allah's) Signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them, and He (Allah) has put love and compassion between you; verily in that are Signs for those who ponder.

We also cordially invite you to read the article "Relationships" in this site.

To be continued …