Valentine’s Day is a day for lovers, a day to celebrate love, to give gifts to our loved ones, and a day for romance. A lot of people are very excited about this day, especially couples, because they expect gifts and special outings with their partners. But for many single people, the day holds almost no significance. Arniel Siepel on the National Public Radio and American Radio says that Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. But the origins of this festival of candy and cupids are actually dark, bloody — and a bit muddled. Though no one has pinpointed the exact origin of the holiday, one good place to start is ancient Rome, where men hit on women by, well, hitting them. Frank Ntarindwa, a student at Mount Kenya University, says that Valentine’s Day is a day for lovers and friends but again the day itself is the best opportunity for lovers to express their emotions, and some even use the opportunity to get married or propose. “Personally I’ve never celebrated Valentine’s Day, in one way or the other I think the day is highly overrated. I truly believe every day is Valentine’s Day when you are aware of your roles and responsibilities as a lover, or as friends you can always celebrate it, there is no need to have a specific day to celebrate your loved ones,” he says. Huguette Tumukunde thinks that if people love each other they don’t have to wait for February 14 to express their love. “I think they can even take one day each month to celebrate their love and bond, they can agree on the date or even agree on how they should celebrate their love, but waiting for a specific date once a year is a bit funny, if they love each other they shouldn’t wait once a year to celebrate each other,” she shares. Adams Kwizera agrees saying that there should not be one day in a year to celebrate love and friendship if a person feels like they can also celebrate love every day. Innocent Kabera, a counsellor, agrees that celebrating love should be celebrated every day, but also there is no harm having one day once a year to remind people about love. “This is a good day for those who believe in it and it is good to celebrate it. Some people say that we shouldn’t celebrate it, that we should love our partners every day, yet they celebrate Christmas or other annual celebrations, so the question is why celebrate Christmas when you have every Saturday or Sunday to celebrate his birth? The same applies to St Valentine, showing love every day is good but also adding something spicy on February 14 to remember your journey and where you are going is super good,” says Kabera. He also adds that we shouldn’t pressure people into celebrating it, or force people who don’t believe in Valentine’s Day to believe in it. Today social media pressures couples into buying gifts and what to do on that day, but if a person loves another even the little they give will be appreciated. The origin of Valentine’s Day According to an article published by Roses Only, Valentine’s Day is named after Saint Valentine, a Catholic priest who lived in Rome in the 3rd Century. At the time of Valentine’s life, many Romans were converting to Christianity, but Emperor Claudius II was a pagan and created strict laws about what Christians were allowed to do. Claudius believed that Roman soldiers should be completely devoted to Rome and, therefore, passed a law preventing them from marrying. St Valentine began to marry these soldiers in secret Christian ceremonies and this was the beginning of his reputation for believing in the importance of love. Eventually, Valentine was found out and jailed for his crimes against Claudius. While imprisoned, Valentine cared for his fellow prisoners and also his jailor’s blind daughter. Legend has it that Valentine cured the girl’s blindness and that his final act before being executed was to write her a love message signed ‘from your Valentine’. Valentine was executed, by beheading, on February 14 in the year 270.
