Christian Custom? -- or Pagan Holiday?
Where did St. Valentine's Day come from? 2nd Corinthians 6:14 "What fellowship can Christ have with Baal?"You might suppose that school teachers and educators would know. But do they? How many of you were ever taught the real origin of Valentine's Day? Were you ever told in school why you should observe the custom of exchanging Valentines? The Silence of Educators Teachers are all too often silent about the origin of the customs they are forced to teach in today's schools!
If they were to speak out, many would lose their jobs! Isn't it time we examined why we encourage our children to celebrate St. Valentine's Day -- when it is never so much as mentioned in the Bible as a practice of the New Testament Church? Today, candy-makers unload tons of heart-shaped red boxes for February 14th, while millions of the younger set are annually exchanging Valentines, Florists consider February 14th ( St. Valentine's Day) as one of their best business days. And young lovers pair off (at least for a dance or two at St. Valentine's balls.)
Why?
Where did these customs originate? Where do we find any such practices in the Bible? How did we come to inherit these customs? A Christian Custom?Did you know that centuries before Christ, the pagan Romans celebrated February 15th and the evening of February 14th as an idolatrous and sensuous festival in honor of Lupercus, the "hunter of wolves"?
The Romans called the festival the “Lupercalia.” The custom of exchanging Valentines and all the other traditions in honor of Lupercus (the deified hero-hunter of Rome) was also linked anciently with the pagan practice of teen-agers “going steady.” It usually led to fornication. Today, the custom of “going steady” is thought very modern. It isn't. It is merely a rebirth of an old custom “handed down from the Roman festival of the Lupercalia, celebrated in the month of February, when names of young women were put into a box and drawn out by men as chance directed.” That's the admission of the “Encyclopedia Americana”, article, “St. Valentine's Day.”
When Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire there was some talk in church circles of discarding this pagan free-for-all. But the Roman citizens wouldn't hear of it! So it was agreed that the holiday would continue as it was, except for the more grossly sensual observances.
It was not until the reign of Pope Gelasius that the holiday became a “Christian custom.” As far back as 496, Pope Gelasius changed Lupercalia on February 15th to St. Valentine's Day on February 14th. (p. 172 of "Customs and Holidays Around the World" by Lavinia Dobler).
But how did this pagan festival acquire the name of “St. Valentine's Day”? And why is the little naked Cupid of the pagan Romans so often associated today with February 14th? And why do little children and young people still cut out hearts and send them on a day in honor of Lupercus the hunter of wolves? Why have we supposed these pagan customs in honor of a false god are Christian?Who Was the Original “St. Valentine”?Valentine was a common Roman name. Roman parents often gave the name to their children in honor of the famous man who was first called Valentine in antiquity. That famous man was Lupercus, the HUNTER. But who was Lupercus? -- and why should he have also borne the name Valentine among the heathen Romans?
The Greeks called Lupercus by the name of “Pan.” The Semites called Pan “Baal,” according to the “Classical Dictionaries.” Baal (mentioned so often in the Bible) was merely another name for Nimrod, “the mighty HUNTER” (Genesis 10:9). The hunter Nimrod was the Lupercus (or wolf hunter) of the Romans. And St. Valentine's Day was originally a day set aside by the pagans in his honor!
But why should Nimrod have been called “Valentine” by the Romans? And why should the celebration of this day have been anciently limited to the city of Rome before Pope Gelasius' time? What part did the site of ancient Rome play in the life of Nimrod?Valentine comes from the Latin word “Valentinus”, a proper name derived from the word “valens”, meaning “to be strong,” declares “Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.” It means literally “strong, powerful, mighty.” Any connection with Nimrod? We read in the Bible that Nimrod was the “MIGHTY hunter” (Gen. 10:9). It was a common proverb of ancient time that Nimrod was “the MIGHTY hunter before the Lord.” NIMROD WAS THEIR HERO -- THEIR STRONG MAN -- THEIR VALENTINE!
How plain that the original Valentine was Nimrod, the mighty hunter of wolves. Yet another of Nimrod's names was “Sanctus” or “Santa,” meaning “Saint.” It was a common title of any hero-god. No wonder that the Roman Lupercalia is called "Saint Valentine's Day"!
But why do we associate HEARTS on a day in honor of Nimrod -- the BAAL of the Phoenicians and Semites?
The surprising answer is that the pagan Romans acquired the symbol of the heart from the Babylonians. In the Babylonian tongue the word for “heart” was "bal" (see "Young's" or "Strong's Concordance"). The heart – “bal” -- was merely a symbol of Nimrod -- the “Baal” or Lord of the Babylonians!Executed at RomeNimrod -- THE ORIGINAL ST. VALENTINE -- was also known as Saturn, the Roman-Babylonian god who HID from his pursuers in a secret place. The Latin word Saturn is derived from the Semitic-speaking Babylonians. It means “be hid, hide self, secret, conceal.” The original Semitic (Hebrew) word, from which the Latin Saturn is derived, is used 83 times in the Old Testament (see “Young's Concordance” under “Sathar,” also “sether.”
According to ancient tradition, Saturn (Nimrod) fled from his pursuers to Italy. The Apennine mountains of Italy were anciently named the mountains of Nembrod or Nimrod. Nimrod briefly hid out at the site where Rome was later built. The ancient name of Rome, before it was rebuilt in 753 B.C., was Saturnia -- the site of Saturn's (Nimrod's) hiding. There he was found and slain for his crimes. Later, professing Christians in Constantine's day made Nimrod -- the St. Valentine of the heathen -- a SAINT of the Church and continued to honor him under the name of a Christian martyr.
Why February 14th? But why should the Romans have chosen February 15 and the evening of February 14 to honor Lupercus -- the Nimrod of the Bible? (Remember that days in ancient times began at sunset the evening before.)
Nimrod (the Baal or sun god of the ancient pagans) was said to have been born at the winter solstice. In ancient times the solstice occurred on January 6 and his birthday therefore was celebrated on January 6. Later, as the solstice changed, it was celebrated on December 25 and is now called Christmas. It was the custom of antiquity for the mother of a male child to present herself for purification on the fortieth day after the day of birth. The fortieth day after January 6 ( Nimrod's original birthdate) takes us to February 15th, the celebration of which began on the evening of February 14th the Lupercalia or St. Valentine's Day.
On this day in February, Semiramis, the mother of Nimrod, was said to have been PURIFIED and to have appeared for the first time in public with her son as the original "mother and child."
The Roman month February, in fact, derives its name from the "februa" which the Roman priests used in the rites celebrated on St. Valentine's Day. The "februa" were thongs from the skins of sacrificial animals used in rites of purification on the evening of February 14th.
Cupid Makes His Appearance Another name for the child Nimrod was “Cupid” --meaning “desire”-- (Encyclopedia Britannica, art., Cupid). It is said that when Nimrod's mother saw him, she LUSTED after him -- she DESIRED him. Nimrod became her Cupid -- her desired one -- and later her Valentine! So evil was Nimrod's mother that IT IS SAID SHE MARRIED HER OWN SON! Inscribed on the monuments of ancient Egypt are inscriptions that Nimrod (the Egyptians called him Osiris) was “the husband of his mother.”As Nimrod grew up, he became the child-hero of MANY women who DESIRED him. He was their Cupid! In the Book of Daniel he is called the “DESIRE of women” (Dan. 11:37). Moffatt translates the word as Tammuz -- a Babylonian name of Nimrod. He provoked so many women to JEALOUSY that an idol of him was often called the “image of jealousy” (Ezekiel 8:5).
Nimrod, the hunter, was also their Valentine -- their strong or mighty hero! No wonder the pagans commemorated their hero-hunter Nimrod, or Baal, by sending heart-shaped love tokens to one another on the evening of February 14 as a symbol of him.
Nimrod, the mulatto son of Cush the Ethiopian, was later a source of embarrassment to the pagans of Europe. They didn't want an African to worship. Consequently, they substituted a supposed son of Nimrod, a white child named Horus, born after the death of Nimrod. This white child then became the “fair cupid” of European tradition.It is about time we examined these foolish customs of the pagans now falsely labeled Christian. It is time we quit this Roman and Babylonian foolishness -- this IDOLATRY -- and get back to the faith of Christ delivered once for all time.
Let's stop teaching our children these pagan customs in memory of Baal the sun god -- the original St. Valentine -- and teach them instead what the Bible really says!
Christians should be known by their discernment and should be asking questions regarding “Saint Valentine's Day.” What is the origin of this unusual day? Why is there a preoccupation with the color red? Where did the heart shape come from, and what does it mean? These and other questions will now be answered, as we examine the roots and pagan origin of this popular day.
At this website, insight is provided into the origins of Valentine's Day:
http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract6.html*
Commentary: By Maria MerolaOnce again it is of “Roman” origin with pagan rites of sex and fertility attached to it. Should We Honor Saints? The Roman Catholic Church has adopted a custom of “honoring Saints” but does the Bible teach us to give honor to men such as “Saint Valentine”?
John 5:41 “I receive not honour from men.”
John 5:44 “How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?”
“All Saints Day” or Halloween is yet another “tradition of men” designed to nullify the word of God in the life of the believer.
Traditions of Men What did Yeshua tell us about man made traditions?
Matthew 15:3 “But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition.”
Matthew 15:6 “Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.” Mark 7:9 “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”
Mark 7:13 “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition…” The word tradition has a numerical value of 666 when calculated in the Hebrew alphabet/numbers. No wonder why Yeshua hates tradition. It is based on man’s ideas and not on God’s Torah (instructions).
*Last Trumpet Ministries Website commentaries:In the days of the Roman Empire, the month of February was the last and shortest month of the year. February originally had 30 days, but when Julius Caesar named the month of July after himself, he decided to make that month longer and shortened February to 29 days while making July a month of 31 days. Later when Octavius Caesar, also known as Augustus, came to power, he named the month of August after himself, and not to be outdone he also subtracted a day from February and gave the month of August 31 days. To this very day it remains that way. The ancient Romans believed that every month had a spirit that gained in strength and reached its peak or apex of power in the middle or ides of the month.
This was usually the 15th day, and it was a day when witches and augurs, or soothsayers worked their magic. An augur was a person filled with a spirit of divination, and from the word augur we get the word "inaugurate", which means to "take omens." Since February had been robbed by Caesars and had only 28 days, the ides of February became the 14th day of that month. Since the Ides of a month was celebrated on the preceding eve, the month of February was unique, because it was the 13th day that became the eve of the Ides that month, and it became a very important pagan holiday in the Empire of Rome.
The sacred day of February 14th was called "Lupercalia" or "day of the wolf." This was a day that was sacred to the sexual frenzy of the goddess Juno. This day also honored the Roman gods, Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary twin brothers, who supposedly founded Rome, Remus and Romulus. These two are said to have been suckled by wolves in a cave on Palatine Hill in Rome. The cave was called Lupercal and was the center of the celebrating on the eve of Lupercalia or February 14th.
On this day, Lupercalia, which was later named Valentine's Day, the Luperci or priests of Lupercus dressed in goatskins for a bloody ceremony. The priests of Lupercus, the wolf god, would sacrifice goats and a dog and then smear themselves with blood. These priests, made red with sacrificial blood, would run around Palatine Hill in a wild frenzy while carving a goatskin thong called a "februa." Women would sit all around the hill, as the bloody priests would strike them with the goatskin thongs to make them fertile. The young women would then gather in the city and their names were put in boxes. These "love notes" were called "billets."
The men of Rome would draw a billet, and the woman whose name was on it became his sexual lust partner with whom he would fornicate until the next Lupercalia or February 14th. Thus, February 14th became a day of unbridled sexual lust. The color "red" was sacred to that day because of the blood and the "heart shape" that is popular to this day. The heart-shape was not a representation of the human heart, which looks nothing like it. This shape represents the human female matrix or opening to the chamber of sacred copulation.
When the Gnostic Catholic Church began to get a foothold in Rome around the 3rd century A.D., they became known as Valentinians. The Catholic Valentinians retained the sexual license of the festival in what they called “angels in a nuptial chamber”, which was also called the “sacrament of copulation.” This was said to be a reenactment of the marriage of “Sophia and the Redeemer.” As the participants of the February 14th ritual began their sexual sacrament, presided over and watched by the priests known as Valentinians, the following literary was spoken: “Let the seed of light descend into thy bridal chamber, receive the bridegroom… open thine arms to embrace him.
Behold, grace has descended upon thee.”As time went on, the Orthodox Church suppressed the Gnostic Catholics and manufactured “St. Valentine”, whose day continues to be celebrated in these modern times. It should be without saying that Christians should avoid Valentine's Day like a plague. In God's eyes, it is still “Lupercalia”, the “Day of the Wolf.” Men become wolves, as they carry on the Satanic rituals of fornication, which means sexual intercourse without marriage. We have heard of the "wolf whistle", and we all know that wolves do not whistle. It is lustful men and women, who carry on Satan's blasphemy to this very day. In conclusion, we must ask ourselves,
“Should a true Christian be associated in any way with this celebration of evil roots? Should we be doing what the heathen have done for so many years and try to justify it as love?” Romans 12:2 answers this very well, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…"
* Commentaries by Maria Merola: You may have a hard time giving up this holiday. You may even try to rationalize: “Well we can turn this into a day to celebrate the love of Jesus, right?”
This sounds logical, but what does Yeshua say about keeping man-made traditions?
Matthew 15:3 Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
Matthew 15:6 Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Finally, we are exhorted not to learn the way of the heathen when it comes to observing “signs of heaven” by use of astrology: Jeremiah 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
* Commentaries from Last Trumpet Ministries Website: Valentine's Day is certainly a day which Christians should not celebrate. Although it is celebrated in the pretense that it is all about LOVE, as is Christmas, that's not so. It is actually another Pagan holiday giving honor to Nimrod. Before you give your sweetie candy this coming Valentine's Day, consider that to do so you are paying homage to this creature. Nimrod the Mighty Valentineby Herman L. Hoeh
http://home.sprynet.com/~pabco/stvalen.htmThis creature which is half goat and half man is none other than Satan. Satan transforms himself as "an angel of light" as well as many of these other creatures who are objects of worship: Nimrod, Baal, Valentine, the Mighty Hunter, Faunus, Lupercus. This is the same BAPHOMET or the Goat of Mendez worshipped by Freemasons at the 30th, 31st, 32nd & 33rd degrees. Satan has many aliases.
The Feast of Lupercalia, an early Roman Festival Century created in mid-February centuries before Saint Valentine's Day. These half dressed young men are lashing this girl with bloody goat skin strips. Other rituals took place linked to Juno, the goddess of Women and Marriage. The stage had been set for a festivity around the theme of Love.
The Lupercian festival was a celebration of sensual pleasure, a time to meet and court a prospective mate. This was done by marking a girl with a number using blood, then whoever pulled the corresponding number from a box would be the girls lover for the next year until February 14th came around again.
