Dr Damian Kasprzyk at one of the University of Lodz Press Breakfasts
On an everyday basis or on festive occasions
The practice of celebrating Valentine's Day has its opponents. Critics of this cultural phenomenon point to its Anglo-Saxon origins (analogy to Halloween), its commercial nature and the discomfort it may bring to people who are single by choice or unlucky in love. It is also said that we should show this kind of affection on a daily basis and not on festive occasions.
The fact is that, around 14 February, we may feel a certain over-saturation of the red heart symbol as a Valentine's Day element of ubiquitous advertising. On the other hand, we have only just said goodbye to the star and Christmas tree motif, and the Easter egg is already waiting. It is difficult to imagine stopping this process at the current level of consumption, for which, in a sense, we are all responsible. There is probably no holiday in the calendar (religious or secular) that would gain complete ideological acceptance of a multi-million-strong society. If the infamous principle of the liberum veto was applied here, we would probably celebrate nothing and never. There is therefore nothing left to do but to look for the good points of the changes in customs and the links between Valentine's Day and other traditions, and to point out the useful role of the practices we reach for on 14 February.
The powerful flywheel of culture – love
We should realize what this day is dedicated to. Love – this shameful and sometimes trivialised aspect of human life (which is understood in different ways), is in fact a powerful flywheel of culture. Acts performed out of love or in its name have often changed the course of history and the works created under its influence are among the most outstanding that man has created. We should assume that every human being is the fruit of love. The seed of this great strength lies within us but perhaps above all in the holding hands teenagers that we pass every day on the street. Their future, and a thing as important as demographic growth, largely depends on successful, reciprocated love. Since Saint Valentine is the patron saint of lovers, let us recall the thought of another martyr – Paul of Tarsus, who argues that of the three constitutive elements of human spirituality – faith, hope and love, the last one is the most important.
Valentine's Day basically fits into a clear and strong trend of Polish traditions. The cult of saints was widespread among both the elite and the people in the Catholic country. Parallel to the numerical determination of the date in the calendar, there was a way of stating it using the name of the saint whose memory the Church celebrated on a given day. This is reflected, for example, in weather proverbs such as: "Gdy na św. Walenty mróz, chowaj sanie, szykuj wóz”. Additionally, it was necessary to know what matters a given saint was a patron and intercessor of, in order to direct the intercessory prayer to the right addressee. This required a special kind of discernment, but our ancestors managed it very well.
St Valentine not only responsible for lovers
According to information from the first centuries of Christianity, which is difficult to verify, St. Valentine was the bishop of Interamna Nahars – today's Terni in Italy. One version of his biography places this figure in the 3rd century. At the time, Bishop Valentine was said to have secretly performed weddings at a time when Emperor Claudius "Gothicus" issued an edict forbidding young men to marry before completing military service. Another, more reliable biographical version, places the figure of the saint in the next century. Bishop Valentine was then supposed to miraculously heal the son of a famous philosopher from neurological ailments, who in return agreed to be baptised. The Roman Senate, concerned about Bishop Valentine's authority, was to order his assassination. In the light of these accounts, Bishop Valentine suffered martyrdom around 269 or in 347. For the next 1,000 years, people prayed to St Valentine for relief for those suffering from mental illness and epilepsy. It is only in the late Middle Ages that the cult of this saint as the patron saint of lovers begins to spread, first in England. Perhaps it has something to do with knightly customs.
The saint is not an unknown figure in Poland. Several churches and monasteries have his relics. The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chełmno stores a fragment of the saint's head in a 17th century reliquary commissioned by a noblewoman as a votive offering for the healing of her daughter. Sanctuary of St. Valentine in Bieruń, Silesia is another interesting site. Pilgrims have been coming here from near and far for over 300 years, asking for graces and intercession in matters of mental illness and epilepsy.
More recently, places of this type have taken into account the 'love' patronage of St Valentine. On the website of the Parish Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord in Galew, where his cult is nurtured, one can read the contents of the prayers: "for love", "for my girlfriend", "for my boy", "the right choice of a life partner", "for perseverance in love" and a number of others directly referring to the love of two people. On the website of the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas the Bishop in Kalisz the text of the "prayer to Saint Valentine" can be found as well as several short 'prayers of lovers'. The thesis that Valentine's Day is completely irreligious must therefore be rejected.
Valentine's Day "madness"
Apparently, the Valentine's Day madness began on the Vistula River with sending postcards. This now archaic form of communication allowed the shy to signal their feelings. Some senders probably received nice responses. Therefore, it can be said that the patron helped those in need. For almost two thousand years, saints have been addressed and asked for their intercession in various matters. Prayers were mainly for health.
In the case of Saint Valentine, the patronages of love and health can be combined. Let us remind you that the metaphor of love as a disease (often a mental disease) is widely represented e.g. in cultural texts.
Love is a special disease as only reciprocated love brings true happiness. Love without reciprocity isn't love, it's obsession.
Dr Damian Kasprzyk (Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, University of Lodz)
Edit: Communications and PR Centre, University of Lodz