Today is for many people a special day: Valentine’s Day, the day of love and friendship. Already for weeks we have seen chocolate hearts, roses, cards, and other presents specifically advertised for Valentine’s Day in shops all over the island.

Growing up in Germany I had actually never heard about Valentine’s Day until I was an exchange student in America 40 years ago.

At first it appeared to me as just another greeting card holiday, invented to boost sales between Christmas and Easter. I had to research a little what Valentine’s Day was all about and what the roots of this memorial day were to understand it better.

By the way, Valentine’s Day has since entered my homeland as well and is creating new traditions with Valentine’s cards and gifts, a sign that we have become more global in our cultures.

Meanwhile I have got used to the idea of Valentine’s Day and I think, too bad it is only once a year. Is there anything more worthy of celebration than love and to let others know that we love them?

This does not have to be limited to the romantic love, but who are the people in your life you truly love? Who are the people you care about, whose needs are close to your heart?

There are parents, grandparents, children, siblings, and good friends. And of course there might be the one and only as well, the better half, the one that makes our heart beat faster and who we want to have close as much as possible.

It reminds us that love is something active, something happening, not a static thing or a possession we have once and for all. Love requires action and also decisiveness.

What is it that I want? Love is so much more than a feeling. Love needs reassurance, appreciation, interest, but also the ability to manage unavoidable conflict. Thus to have a regular day to remember and to treat somebody I love in a special way might be helpful to keep the fire going.

Rooted in Christianity

So, yes, I guess I like Valentine’s Day, also as it has its roots in early church history and the central message of the Gospel: God is Love.

In 1 John 4, the Apostle John talks a lot about love as the divine seal of true Christian faith. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13 a whole chapter about what love is, and in Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV) he even suggests to dress ourselves in love: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Even the name Valentine’s Day has its Christian roots. It comes from a third century Roman priest and martyr called Valentine, later called St Valentine (in fact, there are three so called Saints with the name Valentine).

It was during the time of the Roman Emperor Claudius II when Christians were heavily persecuted for their faith. Claudius had made a law that young men were not allowed to marry before a certain age as he needed lots of soldiers for his army who would be totally devoted to him rather than to wife and children.

It was a time when the Roman Empire was breaking apart and losing power and Claudius wanted to reunite those territories with force.

Valentine, however, continued to marry young couples, comforting many Christians who suffered persecution and openly was trying to convert people in Rome to the Christian faith.

Legend has it that Valentine was incarcerated for “undermining military strength” and the Emperor himself came to debate with him in jail, trying to bring Valentine back to the official Roman state religion with its many gods and the emperor as being godlike.

He was full of himself, ready to prove to the world what great leader he was and thus he was trying to convince Valentine that only a strong and united empire could guarantee Rome’s greatness in the world. He wanted to lead Rome to old greatness again.

Valentine though turned the debate around and tried to convert Claudius, who got so enraged that he ordered the execution of Valentine. According to the legend, Valentine healed Julia, the blind daughter of the prison warden Asterius while incarcerated, and his complete household became Christian.

Later the legend was embellished that Valentine wrote the day before his execution a (Christian, not romantic) love note to Julia signed with “Your Valentine”, thus the first Valentine’s Card.

Valentine was executed on February 14, which made him a martyr, a witness of Christ who paid with his life, and thus February 14 became Valentine’s Day in the Calendar of Saints.

While Protestants like me don’t pray to saints or use them as advocates before God, most Christian denominations still hold them in high regard as examples of true faith and Christian virtue.

Later, in the romantic era in Britain, the day became a day for lovers to show their appreciation with Valentine’s gifts and cards, sometimes secretly, just signed as “Your Valentine”.

We need more love in this world.

Wow, I hope that you may receive and even more importantly give a note of love or a little gift to show somebody that you care, not only once a year like today, but whenever there is an opportunity.

Our world needs love, lots of it. Not only for lovers, but towards each other. We need friendliness and compassion. We need it to remind us that we are actually created by God so that he can love us and that we can love each other.

God is the source of all love. When Christ was asked what the highest commandment is, his answer was love. Matthew 22:37-39 reads (GNT): Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’”

• Karsten Decker was the pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Bermuda from 2010 to 2017, and after returning from Germany is now the temporary pulpit supply at Centenary United Methodist Church in Smith’s