I've seen obscene cakes & gifts and I've been told it's all love!
One day, different meanings. And most who celebrate it exhibit the most ignorance.
I did some research and came up with these findings I thought to share,as the World celebrates this "non holiday"!
Symbols of Valentines Day - Cupid
When focusing on the various symbols of Valentines Day, the misleading nature of this holiday becomes even more obvious. Consider the mischievous, winged, child-like archer known as Cupid. Today Cupid and his arrows are one of the most popular signs of love and Valentine’s Day, but just where did this character come from?
According to Roman mythology, Cupid was the son of Venus the goddess of love and beauty. He was known as Eros in ancient Greece, a god of love and sexual desire. It is from his name Eros that we get the word “erotic” meaning sexual love or lustful desire. Eros was said to be a child of the gods Hermes and Aphrodite. As a product of this union, he was considered to be “Herm-Aphrodite.” This signified a sexual union which later was defined as a being endowed with the reproductive organs of both male and female. Eros was particularly associated with youth and homosexual desire and this portrayal of youth eventually transformed the image of Cupid to a young child or the baby he is portrayed as today.Most representations of Cupid show him as an amoretti, a winged baby, but ancient talismans actually portrayed him as winged phalli constructed of bronze, ivory, or wood. In India Cupid was known as Kama. The famous sex manual The Kama Sutra was named after him.
The name Cupid comes from the Latin verb “cupere” meaning “to desire.” He has been described in ancient folklore as an extremely handsome, famous archer, who frequently hunted in the country and mountains. He also is said to be responsible for impregnating numerous goddesses and mortals. Thus another manifestation emerges from these tall tales of Cupid.
Said to be a very handsome man, Nimrod became an object of desire eliciting lust in many women including his own mother, Semiramis, who eventually married him. Cupid—like the legends of Nimrod from which he was created—came equipped with the skills, characteristics and stories of being a mighty hunter.
Cupid’s mythological relationship with his mother Venus is similar to that of Nimrod and his mother, Semiramis. Several paintings from the Renaissance era show a rather incestuous relationship between Cupid and Venus. In Bronzino’s famous painting of 1545, Cupid kisses his mother while fondling her breast as she caresses his arrow. Michelangelo also produced a work of art portraying an abnormally intimate relationship between Cupid and Venus.
The origin of this cute, peaceful, and innocent looking winged child is nothing short of evil and is something we should be alarmed about. No one should admire or use this kind of imagery to portray love of any kind. Fraternizing with the names, imagery, or practices of false gods and their ways do not mix with the life of a Christian. No matter how cloaked these pagan ways may seem, God perceives as dining at the table of devils (1Co. 10:21).
Symbols of Valentines Day - The Heart
The Greek goddess of beauty Aphrodite was considered beautiful all over but many of her worshippers believed that her buttocks were especially beautiful.Her shapely cheeks were so appreciated that the Greeks built a temple to Aphrodite Kallipygos, which literally meant “goddess with beautiful buttocks.” The month of April is named after this goddess and the first day of this month is widely known as April fool’s day, a time when people become the butt of jokes.
... and about Saint Valentine
After several years of the new celebrations, a mysterious man named Valentine became the patron saint for the church observance that was to replace the pagan Lupercalia.
Today, the Catholic church recognizes at least three different saints known as Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom are mentioned in the martyrologies under the date of February 14th. One of these was a priest at Rome, another bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) and the third was a man who, along with other companions, suffered persecution while in Africa. Of this third Valentine nothing else is known. Additionally, facts behind the events and martyrdom of all three Valentines are murky. They might better be described as myth for when they are studied it appears that conflicting and different stories have been collected concerning saint Valentine.
For example; Valentine is said to have served as a priest during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius II. It is said that at this time Claudius decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families because they had less desire to leave the military for home. Armed with this belief, to strengthen his military, Claudius made a decree outlawing marriage. Valentine is reported to have realized the injustice of this law and continued to perform marriages for lovers in secret. Upon discovery of Valentine’s violation of the law, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Thus Valentine became a saint for lovers.Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were being terribly mistreated. According to another legend, Valentine actually sent the first valentine card himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with the jailor's daughter who visited him during his confinement. Before his death he wrote her a letter which he signed, “From your Valentine,” an expression that is widely used today.
The stories behind the Saint Valentine legends are vague and many secular historians believe that they were simply fabrications enabling the church to retain the appeal of the pagan February feasts by changing their licentious meanings to a more acceptable image of love, purity, and holiness. The stories certainly were sympathetic to the church, picturing a heroic, romantic figure and it is no surprise that by the Middle Ages Saint Valentine was one of the most popular figures in England and France.
Today some scholars question if a saint named Valentine ever actually existed. However, if he did exist, they agree that there is no evidence that his life warranted the creation of a lover’s holiday. Paradoxically, the heroic stories of this saint Valentine have nothing to do with the festivities of our modern holiday. The Encyclopedia Britannica 1970 Edition states that:
St. Valentine’s Day as a lovers’ festival, the choice of a valentine, and the modern development of sending valentine cards has no relation to the saint or to any incident in his life.
Zere You have it!
Courtesy: eternalcog.org, wikipedia.org
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