One of the first “big” feast days since Dave and I committed to living more liturgically is a famous one: St. Valentine’s Day. I’ve always LOVED Valentine’s Day (evidence/some good throwback photos here!) but it unfortunately may be one of the biggest examples of holidays that have strayed from their faith-based roots. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll absolutely be attending a fun Galentine’s Day event in Raleigh (details here if you want to join!) and whipping up a batch of heart-shaped hand pies this weekend, BUT, we also intentionally selected three things we want to do as a couple/family to specifically honor St. Valentine’s feast day.
(A quick note: when I set out to research ideas, I was promptly overwhelmed, so let me put this out there: there are many Catholic bloggers who are much, much more knowledgeable than I am about feast days and liturgical celebrations. My goal is to simply learn as we go and then keep new traditions simple and meaningful so that we actually DO them. I’m not out to share the entire histories of certain traditions or life stories of Saints on Something Pretty, but I’ll try to include a few resources at the bottom of liturgically themed posts, in case anyone is interested in learning more. Okay, moving right along!)
1. Pray the Litany of the Love of God during our evening family prayer time. This prayer was composed by Pope Pius VI and I found it recommended in a list of suggested St. Valentine’s Day prayers. I love the idea of incorporating litanies into our family prayer culture because it’ll be easy for kids to someday repeat the responses! This prayer is beautiful and I think it will be a perfect reminder that we are called to love God above all things.
2. Write each other a love letter. Dave and I have exchanged letters at different times throughout our relationship (especially when we were long distance), but haven’t made it a habit in our marriage. St. Valentine is the patron saint of happy marriages, so we’ve decided that every Valentine’s Day, we’ll exchange love letters. As well as the joy I know it’s sure to bring each of us to receive these letters, I love the idea of looking back on all of our “valentines” after many years have passed!
3. Exchange gifts that will encourage each other in our faith. Gift giving is one of my love languages, but to reorient this tradition, Dave and I decided to choose small gifts for each other that will encourage or inspire one another in our walks with the Lord. A few of my favorite ideas: a Catholic journaling bible, a darling tee, or a gorgeous art print for her; an amazing biography, modern prayer card or candle, or an inspiring documentary on DVD for him.
What are your Valentine’s Day plans? Are you changing anything up (or celebrating early, hand raised!) since it falls on Ash Wednesday this year?
Additional reading:
Biography of St. Valentine
So interesting! I honestly had no idea that Valentine’s Day had faith based roots!
Yes ma’am! I think it’s a lesser-known fact because somewhere along the line, people began to drop the “St.” from St. Valentine’s Day, unlike with St. Patrick’s Day, which is much easier to recognize as a day with religious roots. I’ll be doing a post about that too when it gets a little closer!
Like India mentioned above, I didn’t know there was a faith undertone to Valentine’s Day either. What a fun detail to learn! And because I’m sure Andrew won’t be reading this here I can share our plans include a surprise cookie baking and decorating class out together (after a homemade vegan meal at home as a family, of course!)
Sounds like a wonderful celebration!! I would love to take a cookie decorating class–I’m going to start hunting for one around here!
That’s BIS bible looks amazing!
Isn’t it gorgeous? I am seriously considering saving up for one :)
We are big love letter writers! We bought our cards today and managed to keep them hidden from one another.
Considering your affinity for letter writing, this does not surprise me :)
I would love to hear more about your family prayer routine! Trying to get better with ours this Lent.
Hi Vanessa! We keep it really simple since Charlie’s attention span is not the longest right now :) We just pray one decade of the rosary together every night, so it takes about five minutes. It has helped us to always pray in the same place–Charlie knows exactly where to go when it’s “time for prayers,” and he definitely seems to understand that he has to sit still for a little while! I hope your Lent is incredibly fruitful and blessed!
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