SCHOOLS
IN
CRIMEA ADVISED TO REFUSE CELEBRATION OF ST. VALENTINE'S DAY
The
Crimean
Ministry of Education does not recommend conducting events in
schools in honor
of St. Valentine's Day at an official level, although nobody
forbids
schoolchildren themselves to greet one another, RIA Novosti was
told at the
ministry.
On
the eve of
St. Valentine's Day, the Crimean Ministry of Education advised
refraining from
ceremonial events in public educational institutions. A letter
over the
signature of the minister, Natalia Goncharova, was sent to
educational
institutions. The letter says that conducting events devoted to
St. Valentine's
Day does not accord with the cultural traditions of the peoples
of Crimea and
it is not included among the holidays recommended for
observation in
educational institutions of the republic. In addition it notes
that in the
Russian federation, on 8 July the All-Russian Day of the Family,
Love, and
Fidelity is celebrated in order to called the attention of
children and youth
to family values and to the formation of the image of the family
as the source
of love, respect, and mutual understanding. The report about the
letter was
confirmed for RIA Novosti at the ministry.
"The
Ministry
of Education actually wrote such a letter—we are talking about
St.
Valentine's Day. This is not a state holiday and celebrating it
at a
school-wide level is not quite proper," the ministry said,
emphasizing
that the matter is a recommendation and not an order, and it
applies
exclusively to events on the school-wide level.
"Here
it
should be distinguished that we cannot tell schoolchildren
whether to celebrate
or not. If a boy gives a girl a card, there is nothing bad about
that, but
organizing a school-wide event is too much," the ministry said.
The head of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, has published annually since 2015 on his Facebook page his point of view relative to St. Valentine's Day. He expressed the opinion that nowadays the day of all lovers has been turned into a commercial cult and is like the frankly witches' sabbath of Halloween. Aksenov recommends celebrating the Day of Love and Fidelity on 8 July, the day of the memory of the blessed Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia, the Murom miracle workers and patrons of the Orthodox family. In 2018, the head of Crimea did not write the corresponding post about 14 February on social networks. At the present time he is on a working trip to Sochi where the Russian Investment Forum will be held on 15-16 February. (tr. by PDS, posted 14 February 2018)
CATHOLICS
SPREAD
ASHES ON THEIR HEAD ON ST. VALENTINE'S DAY
From
year to
year the Day of St. Valentine is marked in the Catholic and
protestant world, although
this time the holiday coincides with the beginning of Catholic
Lent—Ash
Wednesday; and therefore instead of confessing love and romantic
encounters
believers will have to pray penitently and literally sprinkle
ashes on their
heads.
The
first day of
Lent among Catholics received its name from an ancient custom by
which on this
day during mass a priest imposes on believers' foreheads, as a
sign of their
repentance, the sign of the cross with consecrated ashes of palm
branches,
pronouncing: "Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return" or
"Repent and believe the gospel."
This
custom has
Old Testament roots; the Bible says that the penitent clothe
themselves in
sackcloth and sprinkle their heads with ashes as a sign of
contrition and
repentance for sins. On this day priests perform the liturgy in
purple
vestments; this color expresses repentance and hope for a change
of life of
penitent parishioners for the better.
In
addition, on
Ash Wednesday it is customary to observe a strict fast. And for
those who can
not participate in mass on this day, members of the household
usually bring
consecrated ashes and sprinkle their heads.
St.
Valentine's
Day
The
holy martyr
Valentine, who lived in the 3rd century, a former bishop of the
city of
Interamnia (Terni), is venerated not only by the Roman Catholic
Church but also
the Russian Orthodox Church, and the day of his commemoration is
12 August.
According to legend, the tradition of celebrating the 14th of
February as the
Day of All Lovers is connected with the name of Valentine, who
supposedly
secretly married loving couples.
The
Day of All
Lovers is especially widely celebrated in the western world by
Catholics and
protestants. Since the 1990s, the holiday has taken root also in
Russia, but
among secular persons, to be sure. The Russian Orthodox Church
has distanced
itself from 14 February, considering the Day of St. Valentine as
far from
church reality.
What
to
celebrate
According
to the
director of the Information Service of the Roman Catholic
archdiocese of the
Mother of God in Moscow, Father Kirill Gorbunov, honoring St.
Valentine on the
14 February is optional.
"In
the
Catholic church, on 14 February the memory of Saints Cyril and
Methodius, the
patrons of Europe, is celebrated. This holiday is higher in rank
than
commemoration of St. Valentine, who is rather a locally
venerated saint,"
the priest notes.
However,
this
year Catholic believers are ignoring even Cyril and Methodius.
"On this
date falls a holiday which is higher in rank than all others—the
first day of
the Great Fast (Lent). Therefore, the whole day will be devoted
only to
entering into the period of penitence, into the fast," the news
agency's
interlocutor emphasized.
Roman
pope is
for Valentine
Roman
Pope
Francis loves to bless newlyweds for a happy wedded life.
Especially on St.
Valentine's Day. Every Wednesday loving couples from the whole
world come to
Rome for an audience with the pontiff. An obligatory part of
this meeting is
the blessing of newlyweds.
On
St.
Valentine's Day the Roman pope tries to bless as many couples as
possible. In
2014 all those wishing for it were not able to fit into the
meeting hall for
audiences named for Paul VI that is reserved for such meetings.
On
the basis of
the wish of the pontiff himself, the ceremonial event in the end
was
transferred to the central square of the Vatican beside the
cathedral of St.
Peter. At that time, during a special mass in honor of St.
Valentine's Day, the
Roman pope blessed about 20,000 lovers from 28 countries of the
world.
But this year the pontiff must refrain from his hobby. According to tradition, on the first day of Lent, ashes are spread on the head of the Roman pope by one of the oldest cardinals during the liturgy in the basilica of St. Sabina on the Aventine hill in Rome. (tr. by PDS, posted 14 February 2018)
DAY
OF ST.
VALENTINE
On
14 February,
in the Catholic and protestant world, the Day of St. Valentine
or the Day of
All Lovers is celebrated. Beginning in the 1990s, this holiday
has become
popular in Russia also.
Originally
the
celebration of the memory of St. Valentine was established as
respect for his
martyrdom, without any connection with his patronage of lovers.
At the dawn of
Christianity, three persons bearing the name Valentine were
martyred for faith.
Of the first of them, it is known only that he died in Carthage
along with a
group of fellow believers.
The
second
Valentine was the bishop of Interamnia (now the city of Terni,
Italy). He was
executed during the persecution of Christians and buried at the
Flaminia Way in
the vicinity of Rome.
The
third martyr
was the Presbyter Valentine who was beheaded between 268 and 270
and buried at
the Flaminia Way.
The
relics of
Presbyter Valentine lie partly in Rome and partly in Dublin; the
relics of the
bishop are in the city of Terni.
During
the
reform of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1969, the
celebration of the
memory of Valentine as a church-wide saint was abolished on the
grounds that
there exists no information about this martyr other than his
name and reports
about his beheading with a sword. In the Catholic liturgical
calendar, 14
February is celebrated as the commemoration of the Saints
Equal-to-Apostles
Cyril and Methodius.
In
the Orthodox
church, both martyrs Valentine have their own days of
commemoration. Valentine
of Rome, the presbyter, is honored on 19 July and the Holy
Martyr Valentine,
bishop of Interamnia, on 12 August.
The
story of the
emergence of the image of St. Valentine as the patron of lovers
dates from the
Middle Ages and their romantic literature and is not connected
with the circumstances
of the life of real martyrs who perished at the dawn of
Christianity.
The
date of 14
February in England and Scotland is accompanied with a unique
custom. On the
eve of the day devoted to St. Valentine, young people gathered
and put tickets
into an urn with names of young girls written on them. Then each
person took
out one ticket. The girl whose name fell to the lot of a young
man became for
the subsequent year his "Valentina," and he also became her
"Valentine." This meant that a relationship was established
between the
young people for a year, similar to those that according to
descriptions of
medieval romances arose between a knight and his "lady of the
heart."
This custom had pagan origins.
According
to
custom established from antiquity, on this day youths sent gifts
to their
beloved and also letters and poems which expressed their
feelings and desires.
The
very first
Valentine greeting card in the world is considered to be a note
sent from Duke
Karl of Orleans, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London in
1415, that was
addressed to his wife.
Valentines
enjoyed
great popularity in the 18th century, especially in England.
They were
exchanged as gifts. Lovers made cards out of colorful paper and
signed with
colored inks. By the early 20th century, with improved printing
technology,
printed cards began replacing handwritten ones.
Nowadays
on the
Day of Lovers it is customary to give one another valentines in
the shape of
hearts, with confessions of love and offers of hands and hearts,
or simply
jokes.
Italians
call
the 14th of February Sweet Day, and they give sweets and candy.
They send
valentines by mail in red envelopes without a return address.
In
Denmark they
usually send one another dried white flowers and in Spain it is
considered the
height of passion to send love letters by postal pigeon.
In
Japan it has
been customary for several decades to give men chocolate on St.
Valentine's
Day. This is not so much a confession of love as a sign of
attention.
Girlfriends exchange chocolate collections made especially for
this day and
many Japanese buy "Valentine chocolate" for themselves. In
recent
years the fashion to give chocolates has reached elementary
schools and even
kindergartens.
The
tradition of
giving chocolate on St. Valentine's Day has spread to South
Korea also, while
women only give gifts to their men. For the closest men, women
of South Korea
prepare the chocolate with their own hands.
In Russia, the holiday of the Day of All Lovers does not have official status. Since 2008, the official Holiday of the Family, Love, and Fidelity is celebrated on 8 July, on the day of the memory of the pious Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom, who lived in the 13th century. The symbol of the holiday is the daisy, a flower enjoying popularity among lovers and symbolizing summer, purity, and innocence. On this day in many cities married couples who have been married for 25 or more years are given a medal "For love and fidelity." On one side is depicted a daisy and on the other, Peter and Fevronia. (tr. by PDS, posted 14 February 2018)
Editorial disclaimer: RRN does
not intend to certify the accuracy of information
presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the
accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the
articles as they appeared in news media of countries of
the former USSR.
If material is quoted, please give credit to the
publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit
this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please
include reference to the URL,
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.