Today Friday February 14 is a day known and celebrated all over the Western world and Christendom as Valentine day, a day commemorated in honour of an ancient Roman clergy man.
He was a priest, arrested and later beheaded by the Roman Emperor Cladius 111 for the aid he gave to young Roman youths who defied the Emperor’s order not to get married so as to serve in the army. It was recorded in history that this priest aided and wedded these defiant lovers in secret and paid for his actions with his life.
Hence, for centuries thereafter, the world mainly couples and lovers choose to dedicate the day in remembrance of this priest and martyr. The day is popularly called “Lovers day” or Valentine day when married couples as dedicated lovers wish their partners well with the common parlance of “Happy Val”.
The day in recent times has been erroneously abused, misinterpreted and misapplied by miscreant youths and evil doers to indulge in evil conducts. In an attempt to correct this wrong impression on our youth in Nigeria the Archbishop Emeritus of Owerri Catholic ecclesiastical province, His Grace Most Rev (Dr) AJV Obinna popularized the day in Owerri Archdiocese as a day of prayer and dedication to God for our youths.
All over Christendom and across the western hemisphere, lovers use the day to exchange pleasantries and gifts depicting signs of their love for each other’s true love not debauchery, licentiousness and other evil practices as so many youths would wish to indulge in.
Today, this column would like to use this opportunity to wish our numerous readers “Happy Valentine”.
