A detailed analysis of the pagan origin of Valentine's day and the reason why Muslims should not celebrate this day.
(Note: It contains photos of pagan gods and goddesses)
2. February 14th
Is it one of the days you
celebrate?
Are you a blind follower or
do you know its relevance?
Do you think there is no
harm in celebrating it, since
its just a festival of love?
3. February 14th
Do you think its okay to celebrate this day, wishing your
fiancé, spouse, family, friends and siblings, giving gifts
and cards?
Think Again!
Know its roots, its origin.
Knows its social impact
You are answerable for your actions!
5. Origins of St.Valentines Day
Origins of this day
clouded by many legends
Known Facts:
– February, a month of
Romance in Rome
– Pagan Festivals from
ancient Rome and
Greece
– Three saint valentines
known from history
6. Whitewashed!
Like Christmas, Easter, Halloween, New
Year’s and other holidays of this world,
St. Valentine’s Day is another attempt to
“whitewash” perverted customs and
observances of pagan gods and idols by
“Christianizing” them.
As innocent and harmless as St.
Valentine’s Day may appear, its
traditions and customs originate from two
of the most sexually perverted pagan
festivals of ancient history: Lupercalia
and the feast day of Juno Februata both
celebrated on the same day.
7. Roman Festival: Lupercalia
Lupercalia : Ancient
Roman festival held
annually on Feb. 15.
The ceremony of the
festival was intended to
secure fertility and keep out
evil.
Each Lupercalia began with
the sacrifice of goats and a
dog; two of its priests
(Luperci) were then led to
the altar and their foreheads
were anointed with blood.
8. Roman Festival: Lupercalia
After all had feasted, the Luperci
cut pieces from the skins of the
sacrificed animals called februa
They ran around the Palatine hill,
striking at any woman who came
near them; a blow from the skin
was supposed to bestow fertility.
Because the youths impersonated
male goats (the embodiment of
sexuality), the ceremony was
believed to be in honor of god
Faunus / Lupercus
9. Roman Festival: Lupercalia
Faunus / Lupercus
A Roman god of flocks and shepherds. As
the protector of cattle he is also referred to
as Lupercus ("he who wards off the wolf").
He had the head and torso of a man, but
the hindquarters and horns of a goat
He was considered a symbol of fecundity
because of his lustful nature.
Lupercalia was his festival, as the Luperci
depicted him wearing goat skins.
Later on in the day, the feast of Juno
Februata was celebrated.
10. Festival of Juno Februata
The month of February was sacred to
Juno also known as Februa.
She was the Roman goddess of fever of
love, marriage, and women.
Her feast day also fell on February 15.
On this day, eligible young women wrote
their names on slips of paper (called
billets) and put them in a large bowl.
Each single man drew one billet.
The lady whose name was on the billet
he drew was his partner for the day's
erotic festivities.
11. Christianizing Lupercalia
In AD 494, Pope Gelasius I
suppressed the perverted ancient
Roman festivals after a long contest.
Gelasius' letter to Andromachus, the
senator, covers the main lines of the
controversy and incidentally offers
some details of this festival combining
fertility and purification.
12. Christianization Lupercalia
However, Pope Gelasius I, to fill the
void, replaced the pagan festivals
with the Feast of the Purification of
the Virgin Mary.
This feast is observed by the Eastern
Rite Catholic Churches on February
15
This feast has many different names
in different Christian sects.
Feast off the Purification
Candlemas)
13. Christianizing Februata’s
Festival
To get rid of the feast of Juno Februata,
Pope Gelasius instead changed it from
February 15 to the 14th and called it St.
Valentine’s Day.
It was then associated with various
martyrs by the name of Valentine.
Different stories and legends were
attributed to these saints.
14. St. Valentine the many!
According to the Catholic
Encyclopedia, the saint whose feast
was celebrated on the day now known
as St. Valentine's Day was possibly
one of the three martyred men who
lived in the late 3rd century during the
reign of Emperor Claudius II
a priest in Rome
a bishop of Interamna (modern
Terni)
a martyr in the Roman province
of Africa
St. Valentine of Terni
15. St. Valentine the many!
One legend contends that Valentine
was a priest who served during the
third century in Rome. When Emperor
Claudius II decided that single men
made better soldiers than those with
wives and families, he outlawed
marriage
Valentine, realizing the injustice of the
decree, defied Claudius and continued
to perform marriages for young lovers
in secret.
When Valentine's actions were
discovered, Claudius ordered that he
be put to death.
16. St. Valentine the many
Another legend suggests that Valentine
was martyred for helping Christians
escape harsh Roman prisons where they
were beaten and tortured.
Another accounts states the saint was the
one who sent the very first valentine, he
falls in love with the beautiful jailer's
daughter who is blind, but one day during
their prayer time she is miraculously cured
of her blindness. The night before he was
beheaded, he sends a note of affection
singed “your Valentine”
17. St. Valentine the many!
Pope Gelasius I included Valentine among
those “…whose names are justly reverenced
among men, but whose acts are known only
to God."
The creation of the feast for such dimly
conceived figures proves that it was an
attempt to supersede the pagan holiday of
Lupercalia that was still being celebrated in
fifth century Rome.
As Gelasius implied, nothing is known
about the lives of any of these martyrs.
Many of the current legends surrounding
them were invented in the late Middle Ages
in France and England, when the feast day
of February 14 became associated with
romantic love.
18. Christianizing Februata’s
Festival
The lottery system of Lupercalia was Christianized as
well.
Instead of putting the names of girls into a box, the
names of “saints” were drawn by both boys and girls. It
was then each person’s duty to emulate the life of the
saint whose name he or she had drawn.
Though the church at Rome had banned the sexual
lottery, young men still practiced a much toned-down
version, sending women whom they desired handwritten
romantic messages containing St. Valentine’s name.
The St. Valentines day today has returned back to its
original pagan roots, with no relevance to lives of saints,
but a day of love, romance, dating and all immoral
indecent activities.
19. Pagan Symbols
Cupid
It comes from the Latin verb cupere,
meaning to desire
In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of
erotic love.
Cupid is often portrayed as a nude winged
boy armed with a bow and a quiver of
arrows.
The Hindu Kama also has a very similar
description.
20. Cupid & Eros
Greek equivalent to Cupid was
Eros.
In Greek mythology, Eros was
the primordial god responsible for
lust, love, and sex.
He was also worshipped as a
fertility deity.
His name is the root of words
such as erotic.
22. Negative Impact of Valentines Day
Depression
Stress & frustration
Suicide
People forced to spend to prove their love
despite their means
23. Depression
“It's a shame that
people are made to feel
bad because they don't have a love in
their life, and all because of FAKE holiday.
People feel so much pressure that they
propose on Valentine's Day, get married
on Valentine's Day, etc.”
25. What people say
“If someone truly cared about you, I think
you'd hear it more often than once a year ,
presented with a heart shaped cardboard
box picked up from CVS filled with cheap
chocolates made with oils and lard and a
card picked up for $2.95.”
26. Urban Dictionary: valentine's day
1)holiday maliciously created
to make
lonely people extremely depressed.
2)a corporate conspiracy conceived by
candy makers, rose growers and jewellers
to get people to spend money on junk
Urban Dictionary Online: http://www.urbandictionary.com
27. Urban Dictionary: valentine's day
Celebration of spring fertility (spring is only really
happening around the same latitude as Southern Italy,
where this holiday was technically invented, but
whatever) as celebrated by the Romans. Later
overlapped with the feast of St. Valentine, and was
accordingly Christianized in a way that made little to no
sense
Some d** Hallmark holiday that was designed to make
men, no matter what their situation (dating, married,
single, playa, whatever) miserable.
Single men are depressed, dating men are stressed, and
married men are teetering on the brink of suicide. Yup,
its Valentine's Day.
28. Urban Dictionary: valentine's day
Tries to create the image of love when
the
day is really about money, greed and
materialistic objects. It also makes single
people feel miserable. Suicide rates are
known to go up during this time of year.
"Hallmark and Fannie May all cash in on
Valentines Day while making single
people feel miserable in the process."
29. Urban Dictionary: valentine's day
A 'holiday' that makes pretty much
everyone feel miserable, either because
they're single, or have a 'significant other'
who expects or demands to be showered
with gifts and affection to make up for the
other 364 days of the year that receive
next to no attention
30. Anti-Valentines Day
Valentine's Day depression is so common, it has
even spawned it's own Web sites.
Google returns 1,830,000 results for anti
valentines day!
33. Money Making Business
What people are saying :
“ Saint Valentine worked
for Hallmark. He decided
the best way to succeed was
to CREATE a holiday. Boom,
Valentine's Day! It tortures
the couple-less and fattens
the pockets of flower
peddlers and greeting card
companies”
35. Valentine’s day average spending
The average male plans to spend $135.67.
The average female plans to spend $68.64.
Combined male and female consumer spending
is expected to average $100.89
Consumers aged 45-54 plan to spend more than
any other age group, at $128.78 each.
Consumers aged 18-24 plan to spend $81.89
this year
36. Money Making Business
Consumers purchased an estimated 180 million roses for
Valentine's Day in 2005 with 74 percent of rose
purchases for Valentine’s Day being made by men,
Valentine's Day is the number one floral market holiday,
capturing 35 percent of holiday transactions.
Approximately 180 million cards are exchanged industrywide, making Valentine’s Day the second largest holiday
for giving greeting cards, according to Hallmark.
More than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate
are sold for Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day is the fourth biggest holiday of the year
for confectionery purchases, after Halloween, Easter and
Christmas, according to the National Confectioners
Association.
37. St. Valentines Day Revealed
Not a Christian Festival
Not associated with Saint. Valentine
Originally from two most sexually perverted pagan
Roman festivals: Lupercalia and Feast of Juno Februata
Celebration of fertility, lust, desire, sex and erotica.
Nothing to do with displaying platonic love!
Treatment of women as objects of lust, desire and
fertility.
In honor of Roman gods and goddesses
38. St. Valentines Day Revealed
A day of Love which becomes a day of distress
for many!
A day of depression and loneliness for many
A day which makes people suicidal!
Promotes a commercial, shallow display of love
People forced to spend despite their means
causing anxiety for many!
It’s a Marketing ploy!
Money making business for cards, flower
companies!
40. Deceptive Justifications?
Do you still think its okay to
celebrate St. Valentines day?
Do you say “Why should we be
concerned with what happened in
the past?”
Do you say “ we believe in one
Allah, so our intention “nee-at” is
not to worship pagan gods?
Do you say “ we only greet our
spouses, friends and relatives,
nothing obscene or immoral about
it”
41. Whose Sunnah?
Sunnah –a trodden path
Whose Sunnah (path) are
you following?
If you are celebrating St.
Valentines day, you are
actually following the
Sunnah of the Roman
pagans
and the Sunnah of the
Christians since it is
considered to be a Christian
festival
43. Sirat Al Mustaqeem – The Straight Path
In the name of Allah, the
Beneficent, the Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the
Worlds, The Beneficent, the Merciful:
Owner of the Day of Judgment,
Thee (alone) we worship; Thee alone
we ask for help.
Show us the straight path,
The path of those whom Thou hast
favored;
Not (the path) of those who earned Thine
nor of those who go astray."
anger
44. Sirat Al Mustaqeem – The Straight Path
Allah clearly tells us NOT to follow
the path of people who earned his
anger
Allah also tells us NOT to follow the
path Of those who went astray.
Don’t you think Roman idol
worshippers are those who earned
the anger of Allah?
Don’t you think the Christians are
those who went astray?
45. Whose Sunnah?
Do you want to follow the sunnah
of Rasool (saw) and his sahaba
who earned the favor of Allah.
OR
Do you want to follow the sunnah
(path) of pagans and earned the
anger of Allah?
Do you want to follow the sunnah
of Christians who went astray?
46. True concepts of Love
Love being a Muslim
– Be proud of your
religion
Love Allah
Love His Rasool Allah
saw
Love your family and
friends for the sake of
Allah
Love humanity
47. Love Allah
Allah (swt) is our Creator, Sustainer and Cherisher.
Everything comes from him. He alone deserves our love,
Allah says in the Qur’an:
Yet there are men who take (for worship) others
besides Allah as equal (with Allah); they love
them as they should love Allah. But those of
faith are overflowing in their love for Allah . If
only the unrighteous could see behold they
would see the penalty that to Allah belongs all
power and Allah will strongly enforce the
penalty. Qur'an (2:165)
48. Love Allah and his Rasool
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:
“ Love Allah because he nourishes and sustains you. Love
me because Allah loves me ” [Tirmidhi]
Allah says in the Qur’an:
Say: ‘ If you do love Allah follow me , Allah will love you
and forgive your sins for Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most
Merciful.) Qur'an (3:31)
Surely those who believe and do righteous deeds, to
them will God Most Gracious bestow His Love. Qur'an
(19:96)
It is very clear that if we follow the traditions (sunnah) of Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh), Allah (swt) will love us. Allah’s Messenger (swt)
invited people to have faith in Allah and work deeds of
righteousness, which he himself practiced with much devotion.
49. Seek Allah’s Love
Abu Hurairah (ra) narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said:
“ If Allah loves a person , He calls Gabriel
saying, 'Allah loves so and-so; O Gabriel! Love
him.’ Gabriel would love him and make an
announcement amongst the inhabitants of the
Heaven. 'Allah loves so-and-so, therefore you
should love him also,' and so all the inhabitants
of the Heaven would love him, and then he is
granted the pleasure of the people on the
earth ." [Bukhari and Tirmidhi]
50. Spend for Allah
Spread true love by serving humanity
Give zakat and charity and bring a smile to
the poor, needy and sick
Treat everyone with respect, kindness and
love and give gifts
Do this 365 days a year!
Celebrate Eid, a true day of Love!
51. Gifts
Vol 003, Book 047, Hadith Number 758.
Narated By 'Aisha : Allah's Apostles used to
accept gifts and used to give something in
return.
Vol003, Book 047, Hadith Number 767.
Narated By 'Aisha : I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I
have two neighbors; which of them should I
give a gift to?" The Prophet said, "(Give) to the
one whose door is nearer to you.“
Vol 003, Book 047, Hadith Number 756.
Narated By 'Azra bin Thabit Al-Ansari : When I
went to Thumama bin 'Abdullah, he gave me
some perfume and said that Anas would not
reject the gifts of perfume. Anas said: The
Prophet used not to reject the gifts of perfume.
52. True Love for Allah
True Love seeks sacrifice and I’ve given it all
This, this is the true love in its purest form
I turn my face towards You now
The Lord of my world and the heavens above
I am yours and yours alone
My prayer, my sacrifice are only for You
My life and death are Yours to take
A promise I make
To lay my life for You
An oath that I worship
No-one but You
53. Further Reading
The truth about valentines day:http://www.thercg.org/articles/ttbsvd.html
Roman god Faunus:http://www.pantheon.org/articles/f/faunus.html
Lupercalia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupercalia
Feast of purification of
virgin:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Purification
History.com:http://www.history.com/minisites/valentine/minisites/valentine/vi
ewPage?pageId=883
St. Valentine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Valentine
Retail Forecast0 : http://retailindustry.about.com/od/sales_holiday/