Yeah, I'm talking about venereal disease, jk. However, that is what I think of when I see VD. Guess that shows how much I am observant and appreciative of Valentine's Day. This blog entry is going to be full of information about the true meaning of Valentine's Day (for of you who do not know) and some other perceptions on the topic.
Enjoy.......
As most holidays celebrated by the majority of people in America, VD was originally a pagan holiday that was christianized. February 14th is a celebration of the Feast of Lubercus. The first interpretation has this celebration originating as a pagan tradition in the third century. During this time hordes of hungry wolves roamed outside of Rome where shepherds kept their flocks. The God Lupercus, was said to watch over the shepherds and their flocks and keep them from the wolves. Every February the Romans celebrated a feast called Lupercalia to honor Lupercus so that no harm would come to the shepherds and their flocks. Also during Lupercalia, but in honor of the goddess Juno Februata, the names of young women were put into a box and names were drawn by lot. The boys and girls who were matched would be considered partners for the year, which began in March. This celebration continued long after wolves were a problem to Rome.
As Christianity became prevalent, priests attempted to replace old heathen practices. To Christianize the ancient pagan celebration of the Feast of Lubercus, the church officials changed the name to St. Valentine's Day. To give the celebration further meaning and eliminate pagan traditions, priests substituted the drawing of Saints names for the names of the girls. On St. Valentine's Day the priest placed saint's names into an urn or box. The young people then drew a name from the container. In the following year, the youth was supposed to emulate the life of the saint whose name he had drawn.
By the fourteenth century they reverted back to the use of girl's names. In the sixteenth century they once again tried to have saintly valentines but it was as unsuccessful as the first attempt.
While it can't be proved historically, there were seven men named Valentine who were honored with feasts on February 14th. Of these men, two stories link incidents that could have given our present day meaning to St. Valentine's Day.
One of these men named Valentine was a priest during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Valentine was revered by the young and old, rich and poor, with people of all walks of life attending his services. At this time Emperor Claudius was heavily recruiting men to serve as soldiers for his wars without much success. The men preferred not to leave their wives, families and sweethearts to fight in foreign lands. Claudius became angry and declared that no more marriages could be performed and all engagements were cancelled.
Valentine thought this to be unfair and secretly married several couples. When Claudius found out, he threw Valentine in prison where he died. Friends of the priest retrieved his body and buried it in a churchyard in Rome.*
So, if you are celebrating VD, this is what you are celebrating: A christian holiday based on a man who was a martyr and stood up for something he believed in, the union of two people. However, the majority of people celebrating this holiday are not knowledgeable of this tid bit of information and it has become a material holiday in which one is obligated to express how they feel towards a significant other. I personally believe this is shit and if someone feels that way they should express it because they want to not because they feel obligated, like a christmas present. Imagine what the corporations and industries would d if there was no christianity. Perhaps they would simply create their own holidays to market.
Being that VD is celebrated as the day to one's affection to another let's discuss the topic of love. Love, we are repeatedly taught, consists of self-sacrifice. Love based on self-interest, we are admonished, is cheap and sordid. True love, we are told, is altruistic. But is it?
Dr. Gary Hull wrote an article discussing this topic in relation to Valentine's Day and argues that love is anything but altruistic. It's the most selfish experience possible because in the true sense of the term: it benefits your life in a way that involves no sacrifice of others to yourself or of yourself to others.
To love a person is selfish because it means that you value that particular person, that he or she makes your life better, that he or she is an intense source of joy--to you. A "disinterested" love is a contradiction in terms. One cannot be neutral to that which one values. The time, effort and money you spend on behalf of someone you love are not sacrifices, but actions taken because his or her happiness is crucially important to your own. Such actions would constitute sacrifices only if they were done for a stranger--or for an enemy. Those who argue that love demands self-denial must hold the bizarre belief that it makes no personal difference whether your loved one is healthy or sick, feels pleasure or pain, is alive or dead.
It is regularly asserted that love should be unconditional, and that we should "love everyone as a brother." We see this view advocated by the "non-judgmental" grade-school teacher who tells his class that whoever brings a Valentine's Day card for one student must bring cards for everyone. We see it in the appalling dictum of "Hate the sin, but love the sinner"--which would have us condemn death camps but send Hitler a box of Godiva chocolates. Most people would agree that having sex with a person one despises is debased. Yet somehow, when the same underlying idea is applied to love, people consider it noble.
Love is far too precious to be offered indiscriminately. It is above all in the area of love that egalitarianism ought to be repudiated. Love represents an exalted exchange--a spiritual exchange--between two people, for the purpose of mutual benefit.
You love someone because he or she is a value--a selfish value to you, as determined by your standards--just as you are a value to him or her.
It is the view that you ought to be given love unconditionally--the view that you do not deserve it any more than some random bum, the view that it is not a response to anything particular in you, the view that it is causeless--which exemplifies the most ignoble conception of this sublime experience.
The nature of love places certain demands on those who wish to enjoy it. You must regard yourself as worthy of being loved. Those who expect to be loved, not because they offer some positive value, but because they don't--i.e., those who demand love as altruistic duty--are parasites. Someone who says "Love me just because I need it" seeks an unearned spiritual value--in the same way that a thief seeks unearned wealth. To quote a famous line from The Fountainhead: "To say 'I love you,' one must know first how to say the 'I '"
Valentine's Day--with its colorful cards, mouth-watering chocolates and silky lingerie--gives material form to this spiritual value. It is a moment for you to pause, to ignore the trivialities of life--and to celebrate the selfish pleasure of being worthy of someone's love and of having found someone worthy of yours.**
*The Origins of Valentine's Day http://www.techdirect.com/valentine/origin.html
** Gary Hull, Ph.D. in philosophy, is a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute in Marina del Rey, Calif. The Institute promotes the philosophy of Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.
Enjoy.......
As most holidays celebrated by the majority of people in America, VD was originally a pagan holiday that was christianized. February 14th is a celebration of the Feast of Lubercus. The first interpretation has this celebration originating as a pagan tradition in the third century. During this time hordes of hungry wolves roamed outside of Rome where shepherds kept their flocks. The God Lupercus, was said to watch over the shepherds and their flocks and keep them from the wolves. Every February the Romans celebrated a feast called Lupercalia to honor Lupercus so that no harm would come to the shepherds and their flocks. Also during Lupercalia, but in honor of the goddess Juno Februata, the names of young women were put into a box and names were drawn by lot. The boys and girls who were matched would be considered partners for the year, which began in March. This celebration continued long after wolves were a problem to Rome.
As Christianity became prevalent, priests attempted to replace old heathen practices. To Christianize the ancient pagan celebration of the Feast of Lubercus, the church officials changed the name to St. Valentine's Day. To give the celebration further meaning and eliminate pagan traditions, priests substituted the drawing of Saints names for the names of the girls. On St. Valentine's Day the priest placed saint's names into an urn or box. The young people then drew a name from the container. In the following year, the youth was supposed to emulate the life of the saint whose name he had drawn.
By the fourteenth century they reverted back to the use of girl's names. In the sixteenth century they once again tried to have saintly valentines but it was as unsuccessful as the first attempt.
While it can't be proved historically, there were seven men named Valentine who were honored with feasts on February 14th. Of these men, two stories link incidents that could have given our present day meaning to St. Valentine's Day.
One of these men named Valentine was a priest during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Valentine was revered by the young and old, rich and poor, with people of all walks of life attending his services. At this time Emperor Claudius was heavily recruiting men to serve as soldiers for his wars without much success. The men preferred not to leave their wives, families and sweethearts to fight in foreign lands. Claudius became angry and declared that no more marriages could be performed and all engagements were cancelled.
Valentine thought this to be unfair and secretly married several couples. When Claudius found out, he threw Valentine in prison where he died. Friends of the priest retrieved his body and buried it in a churchyard in Rome.*
So, if you are celebrating VD, this is what you are celebrating: A christian holiday based on a man who was a martyr and stood up for something he believed in, the union of two people. However, the majority of people celebrating this holiday are not knowledgeable of this tid bit of information and it has become a material holiday in which one is obligated to express how they feel towards a significant other. I personally believe this is shit and if someone feels that way they should express it because they want to not because they feel obligated, like a christmas present. Imagine what the corporations and industries would d if there was no christianity. Perhaps they would simply create their own holidays to market.
Being that VD is celebrated as the day to one's affection to another let's discuss the topic of love. Love, we are repeatedly taught, consists of self-sacrifice. Love based on self-interest, we are admonished, is cheap and sordid. True love, we are told, is altruistic. But is it?
Dr. Gary Hull wrote an article discussing this topic in relation to Valentine's Day and argues that love is anything but altruistic. It's the most selfish experience possible because in the true sense of the term: it benefits your life in a way that involves no sacrifice of others to yourself or of yourself to others.
To love a person is selfish because it means that you value that particular person, that he or she makes your life better, that he or she is an intense source of joy--to you. A "disinterested" love is a contradiction in terms. One cannot be neutral to that which one values. The time, effort and money you spend on behalf of someone you love are not sacrifices, but actions taken because his or her happiness is crucially important to your own. Such actions would constitute sacrifices only if they were done for a stranger--or for an enemy. Those who argue that love demands self-denial must hold the bizarre belief that it makes no personal difference whether your loved one is healthy or sick, feels pleasure or pain, is alive or dead.
It is regularly asserted that love should be unconditional, and that we should "love everyone as a brother." We see this view advocated by the "non-judgmental" grade-school teacher who tells his class that whoever brings a Valentine's Day card for one student must bring cards for everyone. We see it in the appalling dictum of "Hate the sin, but love the sinner"--which would have us condemn death camps but send Hitler a box of Godiva chocolates. Most people would agree that having sex with a person one despises is debased. Yet somehow, when the same underlying idea is applied to love, people consider it noble.
Love is far too precious to be offered indiscriminately. It is above all in the area of love that egalitarianism ought to be repudiated. Love represents an exalted exchange--a spiritual exchange--between two people, for the purpose of mutual benefit.
You love someone because he or she is a value--a selfish value to you, as determined by your standards--just as you are a value to him or her.
It is the view that you ought to be given love unconditionally--the view that you do not deserve it any more than some random bum, the view that it is not a response to anything particular in you, the view that it is causeless--which exemplifies the most ignoble conception of this sublime experience.
The nature of love places certain demands on those who wish to enjoy it. You must regard yourself as worthy of being loved. Those who expect to be loved, not because they offer some positive value, but because they don't--i.e., those who demand love as altruistic duty--are parasites. Someone who says "Love me just because I need it" seeks an unearned spiritual value--in the same way that a thief seeks unearned wealth. To quote a famous line from The Fountainhead: "To say 'I love you,' one must know first how to say the 'I '"
Valentine's Day--with its colorful cards, mouth-watering chocolates and silky lingerie--gives material form to this spiritual value. It is a moment for you to pause, to ignore the trivialities of life--and to celebrate the selfish pleasure of being worthy of someone's love and of having found someone worthy of yours.**
*The Origins of Valentine's Day http://www.techdirect.com/valentine/origin.html
** Gary Hull, Ph.D. in philosophy, is a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute in Marina del Rey, Calif. The Institute promotes the philosophy of Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.
1 comment:
Well, I certainly can't say that you are off base with this post but I feel some sort of need to at least attempt a comeback.
As for love not being altruistic, no argument here. And I find it hard to believe that anyone would actually think that. It seems to me that you initially fall in love with someone, or at the very least become infatuated, because they make make you feel good, or preferably great. It's never out of a desire to make the other person happy, but simply because they make you feel that way. However, once you find yourself in love, making that person happy makes you feel happy in turn. Still not altruistic, but when you get right down to it I have serious doubts that altruism exists AT ALL. So, while you're right about all that, it doesn't change the fact that making your 'loved one' happy becomes very important and central to your life, at least in theory.
Now, for those arguments against Valentine's Day as a whole. Well, those arguments can be made for pretty much every holiday. Why wait until Christmas to show your family and friends you care? Why wait until Thanksgiving to be thankful for what you have? Why wait until President's Day to remember what our great presidents (however few of those there may have been) did for us? Why wait for Boxing Day to wonder what the hell Canadians do on Boxing Day? Why ever have a holiday at all if these are all things that we can do whenever we feel like it? Because everyone does it at the same time. It creates a cultural phenomenon. You're not appreciating your loved ones and feeling Peace on Earth and Good Will Towards Man(kind) by yourself, it's a widespread event. You're not just giving your girlfriend flowers and chocolate on a random day (which, no doubt, you should do as well) but taking part in a tradition that goes way back. The history is fascinating, and sure you should know it. But the important part is the emotion and the experience of taking part in the day. Yeah, big business (of the chocolate, flower, and greeting card variety) makes a killing on VD. But, we live in a capitalist world. Somebody makes a profit every time you do anything. Yes, it just a simple excuse to give a gift to the person you care about. But so what? What's wrong with having a day set aside for that? I mean, in the end, we're talking primarily about guys here. And you know we can't remember what's going on. What's wrong with society as a whole taking a little time out to remind us, "Hey guys, show your lady you care." Heck, we may need it.
Now, to me, the important thing is that you understand all this. Don't buy chocolate on VD because you're supposed to. Do it because you want to and do it because the person you're giving it to likes chocolate. Nothing wrong with doing it on Valentine's Day. But do something new. Originality will never cease to be the greatest gift we received from that stupid apple tree.
Of course, that's just my opinion. And I spend all my time reading comic books. So there.
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