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40
The
PLAIN TRUTH
H.
A.
Rober11
VALENTINE'S DAY FOR CHILDREN-
Should we continue to teach our
children a tradition based on superstition - or is there a better way?
wouldn't hear of it! So it was agreed
that the holiday would continue as it
was, except for the more grossly sensual
observances.
It was not until the reign of Pope
Gelasius that the holiday became a
"Christian" custom. "As far back as
496, Pope Gelasius changed Lupercalia
on February 15 to St. Valentine's Day
on February 14" (Lavinia Dobler,
CIIJ–
I011U
and Holida)l Ar01md the
IJ7
orld,
p.
172).
But how did this pagan festival
acquire the name of "St. Valentine's
Da
y"?
And why is the little naked
Cupid of the pagan Romans so often
associated with February 14? And why
do little children and young people still
cut out hearts and send them to "sweet–
hearts" on a day in honor of Lupercus
the hunter of wolves? Why have we
supposed these pagan customs, in honor
of a false god, are Christian?
Who Was the Original
"St. Valentine"?
Valentine was a common Reman
name. Roman parents oftcn gave the
namc to their chíldren in honor of the
famous man who was first called Valen–
tine in antiquity. That famous man was
Lupcrcus, the
hunter.
But who was
Lupercus - and wby sheuld he have
also borne the name Valentine among
the heathen Romans?
The Romans identified Lupercus with
the Greek ged "Pan"
(Smith'J Dic–
tionary of Greek and Roman Biography
and Mythology,
Vol.
JI,
article "Luper–
cus"). Pan was an Arcadian god
of Jight. As such he was equivalent to
the Phoenician sun-ged "Baal." Baal -
mentiooed so often in the Hebrew Bible
- was a title of Nimrod, "the mighty
h"ntet~'
(Genesis 10:9). The Persian
author Rashid al-Din, in his
HiJtor)' of
the FrankJ,
mentions that Nimrod
extended his hunting expeditions even
to Italy. The Apennine mountains ef
Italy also bore the name the Mountains
of Nembred or Nimrod. The hunter
Nimrod pursued wolves in the Apen–
nine mountains of Italy and acquired
the title Lupercus -
oc
wolf hunter .
Valentine's Day was originally a day set
aside by the pagan Romans in his
honor!
But why should Nimrod have been
called "Valentine" by the Romans ?
And why should the celebration of this
day have been anciently limited to the
city of Rome before Pope Gelasius'
time? What part did the site of ancient
Rome play in the life of Nimrod?
Valentine comes from the Latín word
Valentinr11,
a proper name derived from
the word
valem,
meaning "to be strong,
powerful, mighty." Any connection
with Nimrod? We read in the Bible
February 1971
that Nimrod was the
"mighty
hunter"
(Gen. 10:9). It was a commen proverb
of ancient time that Nimrod was "the
mighty
hunter before the Lord." Nim–
rod was their hero - their strong roan
- their
valentine!
But why do we associate
HEARTS
with
a day in honor of Nimrod - the
Baal
of the Phoenicians?
The surprising answer is that the
pagan Romans acquired the symbol of
the heart from the Babylonians. Nimrod
founded Babel. He was the first lord of
the Babylonians. In the (haldean
tengue, spoken in Babylonia, the word
for "heart" was
bal.
The heart -
bal –
became, because of similarity in sound,
a symbol of Nimrod - the
Baal
or
Lord of the Babylonians!
Later, professing Christians in Con–
stantine's day associated one of their
martyrs named Valentine with festivities
honoring Nimrod - the Valentine of
the heathen. In this way pagan Romans
wcrc inRuenced to "embrace" the church
while sti ll continuing their pagan
customs.
Why February 14?
But why should the early Romans
have chosen February 15 and the eve–
ning of February 14 to honor Lupercus
- the Nimrod of the Bible ? (Remem–
ber that days in ancient times began at
sunset the evening before.)
Nimrod - the Baal or sun-god of
thc ancient pagans - was said to have
bcen born at the winter solstice. In the
twenty-first century B.C., the winter
solstice occurred on January 6. Semi·
ramis
J,
who ruled as queen in that
century, ordered Nimrod's birthday to
be celcbrated on the day we designate
January 6.
Eastern Orthodox cburches still com–
memorate this day, but now call it
"Christmas."
Later, as the solstice changed, Julius
Caesar ordered the Reman world to
celebrate this birth date on the new date
of the solstice - on December 25 on
his reformed calendar. This day was
called the
Bmmalia.
Today it is labeled
"Christmas."
lt
was the custom of
antiquity for the mother of a male
child to present herself for puri.fi-