Let me tell you a story. Long long ago, there was a saint. A very kind man he was, he would help the poor & needy, the orphans. Whenever someone needed money, this kind saint would drop a small bag of money in that person’s home, unnoticed. Someone was hungry, food would materialize on his table, courtesy the saint. This noble gesture of gifting continued as long he was alive. When he was no longer, people continued this tradition of gifting in his memory. Any guesses who this noble saint was?
Let me tell you another story. Long long ago, there was a saint. A very kind man he was , he would help couples in love get married, marry off soldiers, in short, do his bit to help lovers. For this, he was punished with death. Now if I were to ask who this saint was, everyone would say St. Valentine, who lent his name to an important day,” Valentine’s day”
The first story was how I was introduced to St. Valentine in my high school days & I remembered him this way. During the first year engineering, someone asked me “Are you going to give a red rose to someone?” I did not know why I should give someone a red rose. Laughing at my ignorance, that person explained the following day was a very special day, 14 February, Valentine’s Day. You could express your love to person you loved, through a red rose. Then I realized this was another facet of St. Valentine!
From that day I have followed Valentine’s day, year after year, from gifting a simple rose (roses aren’t simple anymore, they cost more than INR500 for single flower) to gifting of diamond rings, electronic gizmos. Beg, Borrow or Steal, but an expensive gift to your Valentine is a must!
St. Valentine’s name is being used to promote sale of greeting cards, expensive gifts, encourage promiscuity among young people, make junkies out of our future generation by goading them to taverns, the list goes on.
All for the sake of love, freedom & of course St. Valentine. The humble saint who stood for true love& companionship, would be horrified to see his name being used this way.
Is this the only way to celebrate LOVE?
