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religious compromise was used
quite effect ively by tbe early
church fat hers.
Once the Roman emperors
embraced Cbristianity, church
g rowth became explosive. 1n
order to quickly "convert" the
pagan populace, the church fe lt it
could not be too hard on prospec–
t ive members. Sorne church lead–
ers reasoned that if Christianity
was to conquer the world, it could
best do so by relaxing what the
world perceived as too rigid prin–
cipies of the teachings of Christ.
Another effective way of gain–
ing members was to blend and
incorporate popular pagan beliefs
and practices wit h Ch ri stian
ones- syncretism. Seeing that
the masses could not be per–
suaded to relinqu ish many of
their superstitious customs, the
attempt was made to add Chris–
tian concepts to tbe superstitious
feasts. The historical develop–
ment of the Christian church
shows that, fo r almost ever y
pagan ceremony, sorne Christ ian
rite was introduced.
So, beginning with A.D. 496,
the Roman populace could sti ll
come to their Jove feast, no longer
dedicated to Venus, the goddess
of !ove, but to the Vi rgin Mary
and the saints. The
Luperca/ia
was officially christened "St. Val–
entine's Day." The attention of
the masses on each February 14
was now to be centered on Chris–
tian saints. People could sti ll draw
lots for thei r " valentines," but
with the names of saints written
on them instead.
Valentlne Becomes a Sa lnt
The name was cbosen because
third-century church records al–
ready revealed a tradition about
a certain presbyter named Val–
entine who had married couples
secretly against the ed ict of
Emperor C laudius 11 and had
been executed for so doing. He
had now been elevated to saint–
hood, and as it happened, his
day of commemorat ion was Feb–
ruary 14, the same day as
Lupercalia.
So Gelasius, bishop of Rome,
16
officially "christianized"
Luper–
calia
and renamed it St. Valen–
tine's Day.
But when the Protestants carne
on the scene, St. Valentine fell
into tbe background, since Prot–
estants did not hold to the con–
cept that saints are worthy of cel–
ebration. People went back to
d rawing the names of ordinary
young meo and women choosing
themselves partners for the cele–
bration. Saints and Christianity
had never become a major part of
the festival anyway.
Cupid was still there. So were
the arrowed hearts. Lots were
still d rawn as chance directed,
the day was still the original
Roman day and it was as popu–
lar as ever. In the late Middle
Ages a lot of folklore developed,
such as tbe belief that birds
were said to mate on February
14. 1t was also held that the first
person of the opposite sex one
encountered on the morning of
Valentine's Day was to become
one's fut ure spouse. Love po-
tions were considered especially
potent on that day.
A Chrlstl an 's Obllgation
The fact that the origin of Valen–
tine's Day is not saintly nor
espoused in the Bible shou ld
make us think how many other
Christian customs, concepts and
even festivals are actually nonbib–
lical in origin.
No one denies that there is a need
for the keeping of festive occasions
and religious celebrations. In fact, a
Christian is biblically admonished
to celebrate truly meaningful festi–
vals that reveal man's purpose for
his existence. But to opt for non–
Christian festivals, often totally
irrelevant and meaningless, can
blind us to the real purpose tbe C re–
ator intends us to understand.
Write for the information con–
cerning these festive occasions–
the festivals observed by Cbrist and
the apostles. T hey are fully
explained in our free booklet
Pagan
Holidays-or God's Holy Days–
Which?
It's yours for the asking. o
When
your
time
•
IS
up ...
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eringe at the thought of an ever-burning
inferno. But is thls
true doctrine?
Would a
merciful God in heaven subject the ignorant
and the wicked alike to
eterna/
torment?
ls
There a Real He/1 Fire?
brings to light the
origins of today's misconceptions. Send for
this
free
booklet today.
lt
will spark your
i~terest!
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