5 Important Lessons Of St. Valentine You & Your Child Should Know

The most awaited day of the year is finally here. As it is Valentine’s Day today, make the most of it by spending quality time with your children, spouse and your family as a whole. Every year on Valentine’s Day people exchange greeting cards, flowers, candies and even gifts with the people they love, marking love for each other. Valentine's Day is the holiday for love, but it was created to celebrate an actual saint, or holy man of the Catholic Church, named St. Valentine.

Among all this, have you ever happened to come across this question from your child- Who is St. Valentine? If yes then let me tell you who St. Valentine was and what is the reason behind this special occasion of love. Read on ahead and make sure you teach these 5 lessons of St. Valentine to your child.

About St. Valentine

Valentine was a priest in a Catholic Church who lived in Rome, Italy in the 200s. At the same period lived an emperor, who people referred as Claudius the Cruel as he liked to enter in to wars and would also ban people from getting married. The reason behind this was that nobody wanted to join his army while he needed men for wars.

He backed up his theory by stating that men would be interested in joining his army if they weren’t married. As per the legend, Valentine did not accept this rule and went against the emperor by secretly marrying the couples in love.

When Claudius became aware of this, angrily he sentenced Valentine to serve prison life and then gave him a death sentence. As per legend, he left a note for his jailer's daughter who had become a friend. The note read, 'From Your Valentine.' This was the beginning of a tradition we still have today when we sign our Valentine's Day cards.

On February 14, 278 AD, Valentine was beheaded by the emperor. His death marks the date for Valentine's Day as he was considered a martyr. He a martyr, was killed because of his religion or other strong beliefs.

5 lessons of St. Valentine that you and your child should know-

1. Love is courageous:

   Despite marriages being outlawed in ancient Rome, under the Emperor Claudius’s rule, Valentine performed marriages for couples. The Emperor wanted men for his army and believed that if they weren’t married, they would be interested in joining his army. Valentine was concerned about the injustice caused to the people of the town which is why he risked his freedom and fought against the same. Valentine became renowned for marrying people in love who couldn’t do so legally under the Emperor’s rule. This is how love is courageous as it went against all odds

2. Love is kind:

   When Valentine was sentenced to jail, he agreed to tutor a blind girl named Julia who was the daughter of the jailer. He chose to become friends with the man who sentenced him to prison, thus, choosing kindness over bitterness. He spent time and energy kindly working with Julia, whom others had cruelly taunted because of her blindness. Valentine and Julia developed a close friendship and she came to visit him several times in jail. She grew up to be confident and performed well academically despite being differently able. This is how one must be kind to others as we do not know what the opposite person is going through in life

3. Love is thoughtful:

   After Emperor Claudius gave death sentence to Valentine, he didn’t sink down in self-absorption. Instead he thought of Julia and ways to comfort her. Hence, he wrote a last note to encourage Julia to stay close to Jesus Christ and to thank her for being his friend all the while he was serving his sentence and signed the note: “From your Valentine.” That note inspired people to begin writing their own loving messages to people on Valentine’s Feast Day, February 14th, which is celebrated on the same day on which Valentine was martyred

4. Love is forever:

   Living in a society that persecuted Christians, Valentine’s open devotion to Jesus Christ was dangerous. On February 14, 270 AD, Valentine was killed for refusing to renounce his faith and worship the Roman gods instead and he was beaten and stoned first, and then beheaded. In the memory of his long service to couples, people began celebrating his life and considered him as a Saint. By 496, Pope Gelasius declared February 14th as Valentine’s official feast day. Since that day onwards, we celebrate Valentine’s Day

5. Spread love and not hate:

6. Teach your child that love is patient and kind, love does not envy or boast, love is not arrogant or rude, love doesn’t insist on its own way. Love bears all things, believes in all things and endures all things. One must be kind to everyone and spread love rather than hate. Just like Valentine, we must also have faith in love and work towards the betterment of people in general and not be selfish. Be it family, children, relatives or friends, equal love should be given to all in order to live in peace and harmony

These are the life and love lessons that you and your child can learn on this wonderful day of love.

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