Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance and love But the origins of this festival are actually rather dark. From Feb. 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.Young women would actually line up for the men to hit them.. They believed this would make them fertile.
The
ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of our modern day
of love. Emperor Claudius II executed two men , both named Valentine. on
Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was
honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's
Day. The brutal fete included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men
drew the names of women from a jar. The couple would then be coupled up
for the duration of the festival, or longer, if the match was right.
Later,
Pope Gelasius I muddled things in the 5th century by combining St.
Valentine's Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals. But the
festival was more of a theatrical interpretation of what it had once
been. Around the same time, the Normans celebrated Galatin's Day.
Galatin meant "lover of women." That was likely confused with St.
Valentine's Day at some point, in part because they sound alike.
As
the years went on, the holiday grew sweeter. Chaucer
and Shakespeare romanticized it in their work, and it gained popularity
throughout Britain and the rest of Europe. Handmade paper cards became
the tokens-du-jour in the Middle Ages. Eventually, the tradition made
its way to the New World. The industrial revolution ushered in
factory-made cards in the 19th century. And in 1913, Hallmark Cards of
Kansas City, Mo., began mass producing valentines. February has not been
the same since and today, this commercialization has spoiled the day
for many.
Despite all this I am reminded by Martin Luther King Jr that .“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” Hate can fog visions, making people do unforgettable things, killing people for example.
The
events in Knowsley last Friday night were horrific and inevitable. A
large group of far-right rioters gathered outside a hotel where people
who are going through the asylum system are living. The group was
extremely hostile and violent, setting a police van on fire. The
residents of the hotel, looking on to these scenes, were of course
terrified, especially after many of them had already fled unimaginable
violence. For years, people in positions of power have been warned that
the words they use will increase the number and severity of racist
attacks against refugees.
The
dehumanising language of hate, racism and hostility used by the
Government, its ministers, and its departments against refugees is
fuelling far-right violence against people who have asked us for
safety. What happened in Knowsley is a direct result of the
dehumanising language used by the government and in particular by the
Home Secretary in the House of Commons.
This
language is used daily by MPs and Ministers to target migrants and
people seeking asylum. They are all too happy to whip up hate and then
identify the hotels where people, including men, women and children, are
living. This recklessness is putting lives at risk. The Government must
stop empowering the far right with its language and policies. If they
do not, the consequences could be fatal. The Nationality and Borders
Bill has further bolstered this hostile agenda and it is anticipated
that the new legislation announced by Rishi Sunak before Christmas will
only make this hostility worse.
The crisis in the asylum system was
entirely designed by the Government prioritising deterrence and cruelty
rather than a workable system grounded in compassion. We know that
neither these attacks nor the governments overwhelmingly hostile
narrative reflect what most people in the UK believe.
So
let us not let the forces of darkness, fear and hate overcome,
remember that Love Conquers hate. Racism breeds hate and separation in
the world and leads to much anger and people being killed.
Love is the answer because it conquers all fear. Lets live like brothers and sisters. Roses are red, violets are blue refugees are welcome here. .
