It’s that time of the year again when people express love the way they understand it. Is there really a day set aside for loving and to be loved?

TWE gathered some thoughts on what valentine mean to people.

A Reflection on valentines day

Growing up as a young man, I had a preconceived notion of Valentine’s Day. I remember that at a certain point, it was a day to spend quality time with my lover. What a lover meant was still within the realm of my youthful exuberance that was common with any misguided teenager.

Many hearts are broken on that day, and many young girls and boys lose their sexual purity. Valentine’s Day has recorded much heartbreak because it is a day when loyalty and trust are put on trial in the court of conscience and not the regular court rooms or even court of public opinion.

People who double date are often uncomfortable, especially at this time of the year when phones can easily betray people due to the transparency they add to relationships. The person you stay with is actually the person you love or better still, even when you are with the person you love, you have to put your phone on airplane mode (lols) to avoid answering questions on each call or text message that enters your phone. 

While exposed to the many realities, courtesy of life experiences, education, and other levels of interaction amongst people, the essence of Valentine changed for me. In all, I have seen it as a period of reflection where people think through their commitment to expressing love and care to those in need and not just those they feel connected to. This could always give people a platform to know how well they have fared in doing good to even those they feel do not deserve their kindness.  

It’s also a day to consolidate on efforts made so far. This explains why they call it “lovers’ day”, not necessarily a day for two lovers but a day for people who have love in their hearts and are generous enough to express it. This brings to mind the fact that, genuine act of love is normally unreciprocated.

Though difficult, we are expected to show kindness and love to people who may not be in a position to return it. This keeps us in tune with the blessings that come with the acts. For each act of love we carry out, just for the eye to see rather than for the soul to feel is an act whose rewards are already given by humans.  

It’s a day that owners of orphanages, non-governmental organizations, and other beneficiaries of good gestures should set aside to celebrate, and pray for all their benefactors. It should be a day called the #giversDay and can become an internationally recognized day that amplifies the significance of donation to community and nation-building.  These givers are people that have made sacrifices for the good of others no matter how small.   

Finally, while we reflect on the acts of generosity that are often not appreciated, we should remember that our lives have more meaning when the lives of others hang on the decisions that we make and they perceive our decision as fair and just. Acts of generosity cannot be rewarded by people but by the Supreme Being, who rewards us in secret. God will grant you a prosperous long life to continue impacting your space for all the givers.  

Choji, Jacob Pwakim

Civil Society Practitioner

Recently, my four year old daughter excitedly told me that her teacher told her that valentine is coming soon. I was a bit curious as to what must have led to that conversation and what 

other things she might have been told. Thankfully it was just that valentine is a day to show love and gift your friends a 

nice present.

While I heaved a sigh of relief, I know sooner or later I will have to have some candid discussion on this subject matter. Valentine –the lovers Day is around the corner. Everywhere is beginning to buzz with the heart shape and red colour. Many are excitedly looking forward to this day and for others it is just another day.

I recall asking my daughter if valentine’s day is the only day to show love and she said we should show love everyday. This brings me to the real matter: love. As a high school student, I remember my schoolmates saying  “love is the feeling you feel when you feel the feeling you have never felt before”. That really sounded cool then but over the years, I have come to realize that real love is that which the Bible describes in 1 Corinth 13:4-8: love is patient, kind, not jealous, not boastful, not proud, not rude, not self-seeking not easily angered, not keeping record of wrongs, love protects, trusts, hopes, endures and never ends. Whew! Even when the feelings end, love  doesn’t .So as we go about celebrating love, it is pertinent we ask ourselves especially as Christians what we are actually celebrating?

 Imaobong Ettang, Pharmacist

Valentine’s Day is a day set aside to celebrate love.

In recent times it has been wrongly identified as a day to celebrate lovers! This is wrong because it’s not just a day to celebrate lovers, but it is a day to celebrate any form of love between individuals, family members, friends, co workers, also celebrating with the less privileged and much more.

Valentine is a day to show love to one another, it’s a day we remind ourselves how much we care for one another and what we mean to one another. It’s a time to look for  those  who have  lacked care and identify with them. 

Valentine should be a period to forget the past and  do away with hatred and establish perfect love between ourselves, family and friends. It’s an opportunity to care for the needy.

St Valentine was a Saint in the Catholic Church, he stood for love and died for love of others. 

Valentine’s Day is much more than just a celebration of lovers or partners. It should be a celebration that carries everyone along because God is love, He gave Himself out of love for us, so as children of God, we should be able to share this love with one another!

Regina Mobu, Civil Society