Is Valentine’s Day a Christian holiday? Well, yes and no. No, it is not a day on the Christian calendar like Good Friday, Easter or Christmas. In that sense, it is not technically a Christian holiday.
Wade ParisOn the other hand, Saint Valentine, for whom the day is named, was an outstanding Christian. His life exemplified the spirit of Christ, love. When we celebrate true love, we surely are honoring Christ.
Some might argue that Valentine’s Day honors romantic love, thus excluding it from being Christian. Let me remind you, God created romance. The Bible tells us God made us male and female and caused us to be attracted to one another. He made Adam and Eve and put them in the Garden of Eden naked. That is pretty romantic stuff, don’t you think?
In America when we think of love, our minds often focus on passion and sex; but that is a very limited view of love. The biblical view of love is to love another not because of what they give you, but because of who you are. For example, love is a mother or father loving their children even when they are bad. Love is children loving their parents even when they are old and out of touch. Love is a missionary family giving up the “good life” in America to serve in a remote third world country. Love is a husband or wife continuing to love and be faithful even though their partner is ill or no longer young and attractive. True love seeks the best for the significant other rather than self. The Bible says it this way, “Love seeketh not its own” (I Corinthians 13:5).
Arnold came out of his office and found a street kid admiring his beautiful sports car. “Do you like it?” Arnold asked.
“Yeah, man! How much did it cost?”
“I don’t really know. My brother gave it to me.”
“Gave it to you? You mean for free, for nothing?”
“Yes, for free, for nothing.”
“Wow,” the boy exclaimed. “I wish …” Arnold waited expecting him to say, I wish I had a brother like that. But he didn’t say it. Instead, he said, “I wish I could be a brother like that.” You see, the boy had a brother at home who, like himself, had nothing. He wanted to do good things for his brother.
That is love. That is Christian. Now, you decide. Is Valentine’s Day a Christian holiday?
Wade Paris writes a weekly syndicated column titled “The Shepherd Calls.”
