You have probably seen 50 or more people yesterday and 5 in every 10 of them were wearing red outfit. So why and who or what is Valentine?
Hundreds of South Sudanese were delighted yesterday – 14th of February to celebrate the Valentine’s day. Quick to fall into a trend, regardless of having less knowledge of its historical background, many partake in the ‘ritual’ to mark the importance of its.
With red outfits as it should be or rather used to be, people around Juba and across the country and to as far as parts of the horn of Africa, glamorously brushed off their day. It was “lit” as it is said.
For couples, some matched up with red outfits while others enjoyed their togetherness with ordinary outfits. The random colors minus red.
South Sudanese abroad also celebrated their love despite turning out a few and in solitudes. For those in the own of Africa, the event gracefully had its blessing on them. Though accompanied with less gifts and so, the couples dashed out for outing or the nearby celebrate. For some, it ended in bedroom romance while is of course the greatest perception of Valentine’s day.
For the singles, the duty was to post others’ pics and wished them a great celebratory day. “Happy Valentines”, it was the theme designated for a few and to all people in general.
But what is who is Valentine and why do people celebrate the day.
ACCORDING TO WIKIPEDIA:
Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine.[15] The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae).[16] Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred in 269 and was added to the calendar of saints by Pope Gelasius I in 496 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. The relics of Saint Valentine were kept in the Church and Catacombs of San Valentino in Rome, which “remained an important pilgrim site throughout the Middle Ages until the relics of St. Valentine were transferred to the church of Santa Prassede during the pontificate of Nicholas IV“.[17][18] The flower-crowned skull of Saint Valentine is exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. Other relics are found at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.[19]
Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (now Terni, in central Italy) and is said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian in 273. He is buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location from Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino). Professor Jack B. Oruch of the University of Kansas notes that “abstracts of the acts of the two saints were in nearly every church and monastery of Europe.”[20] The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February 14. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about him.[21] A relic claimed to be Saint Valentine of Terni’s head was preserved in the abbey of New Minster, Winchester, and venerated.[22]
February 14 is celebrated as St. Valentine’s Day in various Christian denominations; it has, for example, the rank of ‘commemoration’ in the calendar of saints in the Anglican Communion.[12] In addition, the feast day of Saint Valentine is also given in the calendar of saints of the Lutheran Church.[13] However, in the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feast day of Saint Valentine on February 14 was removed from the General Roman Calendar and relegated to particular (local or even national) calendars for the following reason: “Though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14.”[23]
The feast day is still celebrated in Balzan (Malta) where relics of the saint are claimed to be found, and also throughout the world by Traditionalist Catholics who follow the older, pre-Second Vatican Council calendar (see General Roman Calendar of 1960).
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, St. Valentine is recognized on July 6, in which Saint Valentine, the Roman presbyter, is honoured; in addition, the Eastern Orthodox Church observes the feast of Hieromartyr Valentine, Bishop of Interamna, on July 30.[24][25][26]