Happy Valentine’s Day!
Welcome to our Valentine’s Day pages. I am so glad to have you visit. Whether you are looking to build meaningful traditions with your family, learn more about the history of Valentine’s Day and its symbols, or find creative ideas for cooking and crafting, I hope you will be inspired here!
Valentine’s Day is such a wonderful time to celebrate our most cherished human experience – love! Unfortunately, the word love is so overused (I love ice-cream, I love my car, I love to read, etc.) that it can be difficult to understand its meaning. Even the way that we love others (the most important kind of love) can differ greatly from one relationship to the next (my friends, my husband, my kids, etc.).
In his book, The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis helps to identify the different ways in which we love others:
Affection (the Greek word στοργή, transliterated storgē): This is the fondness through familiarity that we have for family members or others that are a regular part of our lives.
Friendship (the Greek word φιλία, transliterated philía): This is the bond between people that share a common interest or activity – a relationship that is about something.
Eros (the Greek word ἔρως, transliterated érōs): This is romantic love.
Charity (the Greek word ἀγάπη, transliterated agápē): This is selfless love characterized best by God’s love for his people. It is intended to flow through the Christian to others.
Though Valentine’s Day celebrations tend to focus on romantic love, it should be noted that St. Valentine, the man for whom the day is named, was a man characterized primarily by his love for God. Tradition holds that St. Valentine’s whole-hearted commitment to God was manifest in all four forms of love, particularly charity. His selfless love for others led him to sacrifice his life and ultimately give it up for the name of His Lord. Learn more at our Valentine’s Day History page.
My hope is that our Valentine’s Day pages will contribute to your celebration of all four loves this season. If you have any questions that are not answered on this site, or if you have suggestions for ways that we can improve content, please contact us.
May your celebrations be rich and meaningful!
Sincerely,
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