As red roses and heart-shaped chocolates annually take center stage on February 14th, a peculiar twist unfolds this year as Valentine’s Day shares its spotlight with the solemn observance of Ash Wednesday. To gauge public awareness, I hit the buzzing streets of Legazpi City and asked 20 strangers the question, “Anong mayroon sa February 14?” And to my surprise, only 3 were aware that, aside from celebrating love, said day also marks the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent, while the rest, without a hint of hesitation, directly answered that it’s hearts day, with some jokingly mistaking it for All Souls’ Day.
Now, as we delve into the peculiar convergence of these two distinct occasions, some may assume that we are to explore how it would be possible to balance romance and religious reflection on the same calendar square.
Hearts and ashes, how?
On the surface, Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday seem like polar opposites. One celebrates love, adorned with red roses and poetic professions, while the other marks the beginning of Lent—a time of introspection, fasting, and abstaining from indulgences. That said, as the calendar page turns to the 14th day of February, individuals are bound to find themselves at a crossroad, torn between the allure of romantic extravagance and the solemn call towards spiritual discipline. But the question stands: Can love and Lent coexist on a shared date without stepping on each other’s toes?
Imagine a dinner date where the candlelit ambiance is not just for romance but also to signify the spiritual journey ahead; that could work, right? Share a modest meal that respects both the dietary restrictions of Lent and the spirit of togetherness, and exchange handwritten notes instead of extravagant gifts, expressing affection in words that transcend materialism. Would that do the trick? After all, love and reflection need not be mutually exclusive; I mean, picture Cupid wearing an ash cross—a truly unusual yet heartwarming sight, isn’t it?
Or perhaps, what if we’re looking at it the wrong way?
True VaLENTine’s Day
What if it’s not a question of which to prioritize or how to make it work in harmony but rather an exploration of how love and Lent are inherently intertwined?
In an interview with Rev. Fr. Kevin Candano, he shed light on the symbiotic relationship between said two seemingly disparate occasions. He stated that the celebration of Ash Wednesday, with its stark imagery of ashes, echoes the sentiment that everything on Earth is temporary, yet the love of God endures as he continues to welcome and grant us eternal life if we do so wanted. Emphasizing that God’s love, the one he graces towards us, is a love that surpasses the transient nature of material existence.
Taking that into consideration, what if this rare hearts-and-ashes encounter is but a reminder for us to love in a way that is comparable to that of God’s? That it really doesn’t matter how we’ll celebrate it as long as we do it with the kind of love God so willingly gave us.
“The link between Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day is not a sort of overlapping occurrence but a rather beautiful synthesis—one that challenges us to not only love but love in a manner that is comparable to that of Christ—pure and everlasting,” Rev. Fr. Candano said.
Valentine’s Day cannot be spelled without ‘LENT,’ and from that, one can easily figure out that there is this supposed ‘truth’ behind such an occurrence—the truth that the celebration of love on Valentine’s Day is not, in any way, on the far end of the picture but is rather directly in accordance with the essence of Lent. I Kian Kirby Florano