‘Valentine Week’ has commenced since 7^th February, observed as ‘Rose Day’ and will culminate next week with Valentine’s Day on 14^th February. While modern Valentine festivities generally revolve around romantic love, it also has roots in early spring observations, especially around the season of bird mating. The first recorded association of Saint Valentine’s Day with romantic love is in the poem, ‘Parliament of Fowls’ (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer, which describes an assembly for birds gathered to choose their mates:

For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day

When every bird comes there to choose his match

Of every kind that men may think of

And that so huge a noise they began to make

That earth and air and tree and every lake

Was so full, that not easily was there space

For me to stand – so full was all the place.

While it is argued that this poem was written to commemorate the first anniversary of the engagement of fifteen-year-old King Richard II of England to fifteen-year-old Anne of Bohemia, distinguished research scholar Henry Ansgar Kelly (English professor at UCLA) observes that “Chaucer might have had in mind the feast day of St. Valentine of Genoa, an early bishop of Genoa who died around AD 307.”

Noted American academician Jack B. Oruch notes that the date on which spring begins has changed since Chaucer’s time because of the precession of the equinoxes and the introduction of the more accurate Gregorian calendar only in 1582. On the Julian calendar in use in Chaucer’s time, February 14 would have fallen at a time when some birds start mating and nesting in England.

Interestingly, three other poets, Otton de Grandson from Savoy, John Gower from England, and a Sir Pardo from Valencia have written verses about birds mating on St. Valentine’s Day and indeed early spring is often known as the beginning of bird nesting season. Birds start building nests or fly back home from wintering grounds or start looking out for a mate.

Noted English poet, scholar and soldier, John Donne used the legend of the marriage of the birds as the starting point for his epithalamion (poem celebrating marriage) for the marriage of Elizabeth, daughter of King James I of England with Frederick V Elector Palatine, on Valentine’s Day. Referring to birds starting to look for a mate every year around this time Donne says, “Thou marry every year” and ends with “This day more cheerfully than ever shine. This day which might inflame thy self, old Valentine.”

Saint Valentine’s Day is also mentioned ruefully by Ophelia in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1600–1601):

To-morrow is Saint Valentine’s Day,

All in the morning betime,

And I a maid at your window,

To be your Valentine.

Saint Valentine

Vantine’s day is a religious feast honoring Saint Valentine of Rome who was martyred on February 14 in AD 269. The Feast of Saint Valentine, also known as Saint Valentine’s Day, was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496, on 14^th February, in his honour. Why then is a day to honour the memory of a martyr associated with love and all its modern trappings? Well, Valentine’s Day did start out as a Christian feast in honour of Saint Valentine of Rome. However, he soon began to seen as the Patron Saint of love because at a time when Rome had forbidden soldiers getting married, he secretly solemnized marriages of several soldiers who were in love and keen to tie the knot.

However, a common hagiography (biography of saints) describes Saint Valentine as a priest of Rome or as the former Bishop of Terni, an important town of Umbria, in central Italy. While under house arrest of Judge Asterius, and discussing his faith with him, Valentinus (the Latin version of his name which means worthy, strong or powerful) was discussing the greatness of Jesus. The judge put Valentinus to the test. The Judge brought to Valentinus his adopted blind daughter and challenged him to cure her adding that if Valentinus succeeded in restoring the girl’s sight, Asterius would do whatever he asked. Valentinus, praying to God, laid his hands on her eyes and the child’s vision was restored. Humbled, the judge asked Valentinus what he should do. Valentinus replied that all of the idols around the judge’s house should be broken, and that the judge should fast for three days and then undergo the Christian sacrament of baptism. The judge obeyed and, as a result of his fasting and prayer, freed all Christian inmates. The judge, his family, and his forty-four-member household of adult family members and servants were baptised.

‘From Your Valentine’

Despite the miracle of making the blind girl see, Valentinus was later arrested once again for continuing to evangelise (convert people to Christianity.) He was sent to the emperor Claudius Gothicus (Claudius II) himself. Claudius took a liking to him until Valentinus tried to convince Claudius to embrace Christianity. Claudius refused and condemned Valentinus to death, commanding that Valentinus either renounce his faith or he would be beaten with clubs and beheaded. Valentinus refused and was executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269.

Saint Valentine is said to have ministered to the faithful amidst the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. An embellishment to this account states that before his execution, Saint Valentine wrote a note to Asterius’s daughter signed “from your Valentine”, which is said to have inspired today’s romantic missives.

While we are all for sending roses and chocolates with the inscription ‘from your Valentine’ to your loved ones, how wonderful it would be if we could also show our love for others by being more understanding and kinder to them. More importantly, how about sending gifts to the poor and needy, how about spending time with the elderly and lonely, as a gift ‘from your Valentine?’

Valentine Week From A Zoroastrian Perspective

The question to ask is, what is love and how does Zoroastrianism conceptualize love? Love is a series of varied emotions and behaviours characterized by intimacy, passion, bonding and commitment. It involves care, protectiveness, attraction, affection and trust. Love varies in intensity and over time. It could nurture happiness, exhilaration, fulfilment and joy or result in negative emotions like jealousy, anger and stress! However, true love is whole and beyond suffering.

In the Gatha, Zarathushtra addresses Mazda (Divine Wisdom) as his Friya (Sanskrit Priya) or beloved! Indeed, to Zarathushtra, the essence of Divinity was Wisdom and Zarathustra lovingly worshiped Wisdom. In the Gatha he prays: “Thee do I lovingly entreat, for the best for Frashaoshtra,” (Yasna 28.8)! Zarathushtra also believed that worship or prayer requires two key ingredients – ‘good purpose’ and ‘love’. He affirms this in Yasna 28.10: “For I know that words deriving from good purpose and from love are not to be left wanting by you.”

In Yasna 70, He chants: “I will worship those who are Amesha Spenta and I will approach them with love.” The Amesha Spenta are Ahura Mazda’s Divine attributes and Zarathushtra chants that he will lovingly imbibe these attributes. Zarathushtra believed salvation could be attained by imbibing the good qualities of Ahura Mazda with love.

Joy Of Love

In the Zoroastrian tradition Mino Ram is the Divinity of joy and Ram Roj is considered most auspicious for marriages. Ram is the later Pazand name of the original Avesta name, Raman. One could aver that Mino Ram is also the Divinity of love that leads to joyfulness! Since Mino Ram presides over joy, peace and domestic harmony this divinity is invoked on the occasion of marriage, by performing the Varadh-pattar Baj. Zoroastrian couples get this ceremony performed to seek the blessings of Mino Ram for matrimonial bliss, peaceful companionship and domestic harmony.

Mino refers to the spiritual or non-worldly (‘Geti’ – this material world; and ‘Minoani’ – the world beyond meaning spiritual or divine that we invoke in the Hormazd Khodai prayer while performing the Kusti ritual). The Yazata that we invoke as Mino represent spiritual qualities, and spiritual purposes that they work for. For example, Mino Ram is giver of joy and to feel joyful is a spiritual quality or experience and not material.

Mino is also the later version of Maniyu or mentality (Man means mind). For example, there is Spenta Mainyu (illumined, creative, positive and bright Mentality) and Anghra Mainyu (ignorant, destructive, negative and dark Mentality). Thus, Mino Ram is also the joyful, loving state of the Universal Mind which we invoke to bring joy to our own mind!

Happy Valentine’s Day!