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There is nothing about the contemporary traditions of Valentine’s Day — cards, flowers, chocolate –that seems overtly religious. But the holiday’s full name of St. Valentine’s Day certainly implies that it has Christian roots. Thus, the question of whether it’s appropriate for Jews to celebrate Valentine’s Day is reasonable. The origins of Valentine’s Day are linked to a saint, though the connections are dubious and even the Catholic Church has removed Valentine's Day from its calendar. Some would say there is no reason why Jews cannot celebrate Valentine's Day, though others might argue that, as a holiday rooted in Christian tradition, it would be a bit peculiar. Discover the history of Valentine's Day and its connection to Christianity. Learn why some Jews choose to celebrate the holiday while others prefer Tu B'Av, a Jewish Day of Love. Find out how this alternative celebration has become a Jewish equivalent to Valentine's Day, complete with flowers, romantic dinners, and proposals. Before we discuss Tu b’Av, let us first examine why Orthodox Jews do not observe Valentine’s Day. After all, it’s a day dedicated to love – isn’t that a good thing? A Catholic Holiday? For starters, the full name of the holiday is “Saint Valentine’s Day.” You are probably familiar with St. Patrick’s Day. Why don't Orthodox Jews observe Valentine’s Day? After all, it’s a day dedicated to love – isn’t that a good thing? To understand the answer, let us first examine the origins of the celebration. A Catholic Holiday? For starters, the full name of the holiday is “Saint Valentine’s Day.” You are probably familiar with St. Patrick’s The amazing Rabbi Mike Uram offers his assessment of whether or not it is problematic for Jews to celebrate Valentine’s Day, so feel free to read his view, or any other that you like. But what I want to say about this is: many Americans Jews (dare I say – the majority) feel the same way I do and like celebrating “Hallmark holidays” like Like other mainstream American holidays, Valentines Day always seem to spark a conversation on whether Jews should celebrate it or not, and if so – how? I won’t touch this debate, but if you are interested you can read Rabbi Mike Uram’s “To Send or Not to Send – Is That the Question?” Jews Should Celebrate Valentine's Day ; A Jewish Reason to Hate Valentine's Day ; Furthermore, the Mishnah and the Talmud devote a full tractate to idolatry - Avodah Zara - going over the intricate details of what constitutes idolatry and what doesn’t and how Jews should conduct themselves in their relations with gentiles: i.e., in such a way that not only are they not worshiping other gods The nominally Christian Roman populace still observed Lupercalia as late as the end of the fifth century when, after a long contest, it was finally abolished by Pope Gelasius. Interestingly, this is the same Gelasius who first proclaimed February 14 as Valentine’s Day. How did the day come to be associated with love and romance? The history of Valentine’s Day shows there’s more to the day than greetings cards, flowers and chocolate – and some good reasons why it’s been avoided by many Jews. Ancient Roman Origins In ancient Rome, February 13-15 used to be Lupercalia, a festival of fertility that saw three days of carousel, license, and mayhem. Many Jews refuse to celebrate Christmas as a result, primarily due to its Christian roots. Valentine’s Day, however, has an even darker history tied to it. As Haaretz — one of the predominant Jewish news sources — explains, on Valentine’s Day in 1349, the “citizens of Strasbourg” slaughtered or forcibly converted Jews en masse. In your eyes, that might make me a "non-practicing Jew," but that's certainly not how I see myself. I celebrate New Years. My wife and I don't do Valentine's day because of the Christian connotations. I tend to avoid St. Patrick's day, but only because I don't like being with loud obnoxious drunks in a bar. Love is in the air. With the advent of Valentine's Day, the United States Greeting Card Association estimates that roughly 1,000,000,000 greeting cards filled with declarations of love are sent worldwide – and that number doesn't include the flowers, chocolates, jewelry and gifts that have become part of the rituals of this day on the calendar dedicated to expressing the emotion that Valentine’s Day is no longer celebrated even by Christians as a Christian holiday. It is a day of love, friendship, and candy, each of which is independently explainable,” he added. However, Rabbi Broyde noted, “I think it is the conduct of the pious to avoid explicitly celebrating Valentine’s Day with a Valentine’s day card.” Short Answer: If you look into the history and origins of Valentine Day, plus the values this celebration promotes today, the answer to your question will be very clear. . Muslims don’t blindly follow the crowd when it comes to celebrations of any k As you may have noted, Valentine was an ordained member of the Christian clergy becoming a saint two hundred years after his execution. Jews don’t celebrate the lives and deeds of Christian saints. Jews do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, and they do not believe in the Trinity (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one God). For these reasons, Jews do not celebrate Christmas. The Christmas holiday is not a Jewish holiday at all. Historically, Christmas has been a very difficult time for Jews because it was a time of increased How Can Jews Celebrate Valentine’s Day? Falling on the same day as Ash Wednesday, the Christian reality of Valentine’s day is hard to ignore this year – even if it is largely considered a secular celebration in the states. So what are Jews supposed to do? Here are three takes on how Jews can get in on Valentine’s day fun with a Jewish spin. Should Christians celebrate Valentine’s Day? Christians can celebrate Valentine’s Day if they want to. There is nothing wrong with sending a friend or your significant other a card and a box of candy on February 14th. One of the only reasons some Christians don’t celebrate it is because of the pagan festival of Lupercalia. I’ve never had a theological problem with Valentine’s Day. It was never a big deal in my family and my husband and I never really made a big deal about it in our relationship (though on Valentine’s Day 2004 he did give me TiVo. Best present ever!). And since our kids all attended JCC preschools where []
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