Valentine's Day has again passed with its usual share of controversies in some parts of the non Western world. It is a reflection of the current cultural strength of the West that this occasion has been adopted by cultures in parts of the world which have no such tradition. Many would argue that this day is a harmless expression of love. Others protest vociferously at perceived cultural contamination. Both have a valid but incomplete point of view.
People who enthusiastically adopt this day usually have no knowledge of the historical background. Who was Valentine and how did Valentine's Day become associated with romantic love? Valentine is the name of several early Christian martyrs. Indeed there seem to have been so many of them that until 1969, the Catholic Church recognized no fewer than eleven Valentine's Days. February 14 is associated with two (possibly three) of these Valentines. One was Valentine of Rome, a priest who was killed around AD 269; another was Valentine of Terni who was apparently killed during the reign of Emperor Aurelian; there also seems to have been a third Valentine who was killed in Africa but not much seems to be known about him. Early Christianity does not seem to have associated romantic love with any of these people. The first linkage of February 14 as Valentine's Day associated with romance seems to have been done by Chaucer. Prior to this there seems to be no evidence of any such linkage. However, in the pre Christian era, the period between mid January and mid February was deedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera. So what seems to have happened is that a pre Christian, pagan celebration got adopted in a modified form during the European Middle Ages. The festival was reinvented in the nineteenth century starting from England and then spreading from there. While Europe and the US could be expected to naturally adopt the festival, its spread around the world was fuelled to a large extent by colonialism. The impact of colonialism was not restricted to the military sphere. The European conquerors were not content merely to physically conquer other places. They were genuinely convinced of the superiority of their culture and so in most places, there was a concerted attempt to extinguish the local (and supposedly inferior) culture and put in its place Western culture. The most determined attempt in this regard was made by the French followed by British. The colonials least concerned about cultural matters seem to have been Belgians whose main interest was economic and who went about their business in a rabidly mercenary fashion. But the full cultural impact of the West in most parts of the world came after independence was granted to the colonies. The reason for this was that the colonial authorities tended to temper the civilizing zeal of their compatriots to the exigencies of peacefully controlling the native population. After independence, such termpering instincts were removed. This period also coincided with the rise and fairly rapid spread of radio, movies and television. These proved to be excellent conduits of cultural transmission. These technologies were first developed in the US which thereby gained an unparalled transmitter of American values. The relevance of this to Valentine's Day is that it was in the US that this holiday got truly commercialized and this was then transmitted around the world via the afore mentioned electronic media. So when non Western people celebrate Valentine's Day, they are actually honoring early Christian saints. Ofcourse, by now much of the religious connotation of the festival has been stripped off by the demands of commercialization. It should also be mentioned that adoption of Valentine's Day by non Western, non Christian people reflects their cultural confusion (and in certain respects schizophrenia). This festival is associated with romance. Most of the couples celebrating this in Pakistan would actually have had arranged marriages where romantic love before marriage is generally not a factor. Even for many couples who have not gone the arranged marriage route would be opposed to their children doing the same.
So what about people who oppose this festival? Their opposition is generally visceral. It reflects a rejection of all things Western. These people tend to view things in black and white. Adoption of a festival like this is viewed as cultural contamination. They tend to forget that the culture that they are trying to keep pure is itself a result of many influences over the centuries. Generally, this is presented as a case of religious purity. Most traditional holidays and festivals around the world have their origins in religion. When a festival crosses over as in the case of Valentine's Day, then a question of perceived religious contamination can occur. Usually in such a cross-over, the receiving culture strips out the original religious connotation. A case in point is the festival of Basant which is celebrated in both India and Pakistan. Basant is a Hindu festival held in honor of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music and art. The festival is held on the traditional first day of spring and is a celebration of the arrival of spring after a hard winter. During centuries of co-existence, the festival was adopted by the Muslim community which removed the original religious connotations and reduced it into a simple and secular celebration of the arrival of spring after a hard winter. Yet in recent times, this festival has become controversial purely on the basis of religious contamination. The interesting aspect about such debates is that the grandchildren of people who oppose such cross-overs may well end up celebrating them!
People who enthusiastically adopt this day usually have no knowledge of the historical background. Who was Valentine and how did Valentine's Day become associated with romantic love? Valentine is the name of several early Christian martyrs. Indeed there seem to have been so many of them that until 1969, the Catholic Church recognized no fewer than eleven Valentine's Days. February 14 is associated with two (possibly three) of these Valentines. One was Valentine of Rome, a priest who was killed around AD 269; another was Valentine of Terni who was apparently killed during the reign of Emperor Aurelian; there also seems to have been a third Valentine who was killed in Africa but not much seems to be known about him. Early Christianity does not seem to have associated romantic love with any of these people. The first linkage of February 14 as Valentine's Day associated with romance seems to have been done by Chaucer. Prior to this there seems to be no evidence of any such linkage. However, in the pre Christian era, the period between mid January and mid February was deedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera. So what seems to have happened is that a pre Christian, pagan celebration got adopted in a modified form during the European Middle Ages. The festival was reinvented in the nineteenth century starting from England and then spreading from there. While Europe and the US could be expected to naturally adopt the festival, its spread around the world was fuelled to a large extent by colonialism. The impact of colonialism was not restricted to the military sphere. The European conquerors were not content merely to physically conquer other places. They were genuinely convinced of the superiority of their culture and so in most places, there was a concerted attempt to extinguish the local (and supposedly inferior) culture and put in its place Western culture. The most determined attempt in this regard was made by the French followed by British. The colonials least concerned about cultural matters seem to have been Belgians whose main interest was economic and who went about their business in a rabidly mercenary fashion. But the full cultural impact of the West in most parts of the world came after independence was granted to the colonies. The reason for this was that the colonial authorities tended to temper the civilizing zeal of their compatriots to the exigencies of peacefully controlling the native population. After independence, such termpering instincts were removed. This period also coincided with the rise and fairly rapid spread of radio, movies and television. These proved to be excellent conduits of cultural transmission. These technologies were first developed in the US which thereby gained an unparalled transmitter of American values. The relevance of this to Valentine's Day is that it was in the US that this holiday got truly commercialized and this was then transmitted around the world via the afore mentioned electronic media. So when non Western people celebrate Valentine's Day, they are actually honoring early Christian saints. Ofcourse, by now much of the religious connotation of the festival has been stripped off by the demands of commercialization. It should also be mentioned that adoption of Valentine's Day by non Western, non Christian people reflects their cultural confusion (and in certain respects schizophrenia). This festival is associated with romance. Most of the couples celebrating this in Pakistan would actually have had arranged marriages where romantic love before marriage is generally not a factor. Even for many couples who have not gone the arranged marriage route would be opposed to their children doing the same.
So what about people who oppose this festival? Their opposition is generally visceral. It reflects a rejection of all things Western. These people tend to view things in black and white. Adoption of a festival like this is viewed as cultural contamination. They tend to forget that the culture that they are trying to keep pure is itself a result of many influences over the centuries. Generally, this is presented as a case of religious purity. Most traditional holidays and festivals around the world have their origins in religion. When a festival crosses over as in the case of Valentine's Day, then a question of perceived religious contamination can occur. Usually in such a cross-over, the receiving culture strips out the original religious connotation. A case in point is the festival of Basant which is celebrated in both India and Pakistan. Basant is a Hindu festival held in honor of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music and art. The festival is held on the traditional first day of spring and is a celebration of the arrival of spring after a hard winter. During centuries of co-existence, the festival was adopted by the Muslim community which removed the original religious connotations and reduced it into a simple and secular celebration of the arrival of spring after a hard winter. Yet in recent times, this festival has become controversial purely on the basis of religious contamination. The interesting aspect about such debates is that the grandchildren of people who oppose such cross-overs may well end up celebrating them!
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