As Valentine’s Day arrives, controversies break out in India and
passions run high, in more senses than one. But why is it so? Who or
what is this Valentine? Is this Valentine just a heart and a symbol of
love that purists are so bothered about, or is it “Western pollution” of
our culture? Maybe, it is just a marketing strategy of greeting card
producers.
Well, the original Valentine’s Day was on “the ides (middle) of
February as Rome’s Lupercalia, a festival of sexual licence: a
pre-Christian practice of young men choosing women partners for erotic
games through a system of ‘billets’ or slips”. It was denounced by the
Christian Church, which tried to substitute and insert the names of
saints to appropriate and sanitise popular festivals, as most religions
in the world have historically done. The month of February was sacred to
Roman goddess Juno Februata, the “fever of love”, but the Church
replaced her with a range of martyrs, all named Saint Valentine. He came
in with tales of heroism and sacrifice, and even the sterilised version
was still rooted to practices that would shock not only those who
oppose such “open licence” nowadays but was found equally revolting many
centuries ago. Yet, a millennium later, we find that St Valentine was
regularly invoked in love charms and potions — and during the Middle
Ages, he was treated as a sketchily Christianised version of pagan love
gods like Eros, Cupid, Priapus, or even Pan.
The central origin story recalls a Saint Valentine of Rome, who was
said to have been imprisoned because he performed weddings for soldiers,
who were prohibited from marrying during service. He was also
reportedly persecuted by the Romans for ministering to the members of
the banned Christian sect and killed. Hence, he qualified as a
full-fledged saint. The interesting part of the tale is that, when
Valentine was taken away for execution, he left an impassioned note to
the daughter of his own jailor signed as “Your Valentine”, as a mark of
love and farewell. The present practitioners of such feelings use the
occasion for intensifying their endearment rather than saying goodbye,
and would be horrified at the very preposterous thought of going to the
gallows. Christianity celebrates unity in diversity and this is manifest
when the Anglican and Lutheran churches celebrate it on February 14,
while the Eastern and Orthodox churches commemorate two valentines in
July, one on July 6 and the second on July 30. In many Latin American
countries, Valentine’s Day is celebrated as a day
of love and friendship with a more universal applicability, but Brazil’s “Lovers’ Day” is on July 12.
The 14th century English chronicler of the famous Canterbury Tales,
Geoffrey Chaucer, played a role in popularising this day with “romantic
love” in the Middle Ages, when the courtly traditions of England picked up this craze. We see in the 18th century, lovers in that
tiny island kingdom expressed their profuse love for each other on
February 14 by presenting flowers and sweets and little cards inscribed
“Valentine”.
It is clear that the Western card industry would simply take over
this profitable venture with countless exciting variations and the
American industry association estimates that a billion cards are
circulated each year on this day. But somewhere down
the line, the two-way traffic of presents gave way to single “male to
female” acts of gifting. Not bad! The heart symbol, which looks so
pleasant, actually differs a lot from the actual complex human organ
that it represents. It came to acquire greater popularity in the love
department, trouncing other medieval symbols, like the dove and the
cupid.
The “physical remains” of the “mainstream” Valentine, whose exact
year of martyrdom was fixed at AD 496, were interred in the Church and
the Catacombs of St Valentino in Rome and was an important pilgrimage
throughout the medieval period. There is even a flower-crowned skull
exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in another part of Rome, while
other “relics” are found as far away as Dublin and Winchester. Emperor
Ashoka’s dispersal of the Buddha’s relics all over India in so many
stupas appears to have been replicated with more gusto in Europe. The
Catholic Encyclopedia actually speaks of three Valentine saints who are
all connected with February 14: and the third of them was martyred in
remote Africa. This is not unusual at all as most organised religions
all over the world either subjugate or subsume “primitive” and folk
traditions that appeal to the masses or appear repugnant to purists.
Yet, many popular traditions survive through odd celebrations, like the
character of Norfolk called Jack Valentine, who knock at rear doors of
houses and leaves presents and sweets for children. Valentine’s
association with the arrival of spring, fertility and rejuvenation are
evident from some enduring festivities. In some countries of eastern
Europe like Slovenia, flowers and plants are revered and the first work
of cultivation starts in vineyards and the fields on this day.
Poetry, verses and songs have always been the most popular currency
among love-struck youngsters and these come out in full bloom on this
occasion. Even Shakespeare’s Ophelia rued in Hamlet, more than four
centuries ago: “And I a maid at your windows, To be your Valentine”. The
nursery rhyme in Gammar Gurton’s Galand of 1784 mentions, “The rose is
red, the violet’s blue” that goes to jingle with “I love you”. But now, let us return home: India, which has now gone beyond
Kamadeva and the amatory sculptures of Khajuraho. At present, many
conservatives feel rather strongly that more moral traditions that have
led to stable, arranged marriages are now threatened by indecent,
Western-inspired depravity. Year after year, self-appointed guardians of
morality patrol parks and public spaces for couples celebrating free
love. Cases of violence against alleged obscenity are becoming more
pronounced as after several years of continued...
Source: Indianexpress.com
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