Reality behind Valentine's day...!!!

Pagan origins of Valentine's day

The first information about this day  is found in pre-christian Rome,when Pagan would celebrate the "Feast of the Wolf" on feb,15th also known as the "Feast of Lupercalius" in honour of pastoral gol Lupercalis(who had many love affairs with nymphs and goddesses),Februata Juno(the Roman goddess of women 7 marriage), and the pan (the roman GOD of nature).On this day, young women would place their names in an urn,from which boys would randomly draw to discover their companion(without any moral restrictions) for the day,the year and sometimes the rest of their lives.These partners exchange gifts as a sign of affection and love for each other.

Likewise, virtually naked,arrow shooting picture of Cupid on valentine cards is a peculiar symbol of valentine and according to Roman mythology,is the son of Venus(the goddess  of love and beauty),who induces love in people by shooting his arrow at them.

CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE

When Christianity came onto the scene in Rome,it wanted to replace this feast with something more in line with its ethics and morality.A number of christians decided to use Feb,14th ; a day on which the Italian Bishop St.Valentine was executed by the Roman emperor Claudius 2 for conducting secret marriages of military men(forbidden to marry) in the year 270CE.According to the details,during the time of Roman Emperor claudius 2 due to the continuous infighting.Rome was the center point of wars.The declining figure of male fighters(as men would not want to leave their wives and go the bettle front) in his army forced him to impose a ban on marriages.So that young man may be persuaded to go on the battlefront. St.Valentine started performing secret marriages at that time .When his actions were revealed,Claudius threw him in jail and sentenced him to execution.

In prison,he fell in love with the jailer's daughter,who would visit him but this was a secret because according to Christian law,Priests and monks were forbidden to fall in love or marry.But he is still regarded highly by the Christians because of his steadfastness in adhering to Christianity when the emperor offered to pardon him if he renounced Christianity and worshipped the roman gods.He also offered him to be his closest confidantes and he would make him his son-in-law.

However,Valentine refused his offer and preferred Christianity.He was executed on 14th,feb 270 CE,the eve of feb15th on the festival of Lupercalis.Before he died,he wrote a letter to jailor's daughter and  the closing of the letter read as "From your valentine".These very words are used on most of the Valentine's greeting cards in commemoration of the same incident.

There atleast three different St.valentine ,all of whom are christian martyrs of feb14th.It was in the year 496 CE that Pope Gelasius officially changed the feb15th Lupercalia festival to the feb14th St.Valentine's day to give christian meaning to a Pagan festival.Pope ordered a slight change in the lottery for young women during the Pagan festival .Instead of the names of young women ,the box would contain the names of saints,men & women were allowed to draw from the box and whoever draw the name of the respective saint,he would copy his( saint's )ways for the rest of the year ...

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5th February : Kashmir Solidarity Day

Kashmir Solidarity Day has been observed on 5^th February each year since 1990 in Pakistan as a protest against Indian control on part of Kashmir. It is a day dedicated to show Pakistan support and unity with the people of Indian occupied Kashmir, their ongoing freedom struggle and to pay homage to Kashmiri Martyrs who sacrificed their life struggling for the Kashmir’s freedom.

Beautiful Kashmir

               This day is observed by people throughout Pakistan and Azad Jammuand Kashmir (AJK). Kashmir Day was first proposed by Qazi Hussain Ahmed of Jamat e Islami in 1990 in Pakistan. Since then, there is always a public holiday in Pakistan on 5^th February. It is an internationally recognized day observed by the people, predominantly Kashmiris worldwide. Special prayers are offered for the liberation of Kashmir and protests are carried out against the Indian Oppression of Kashmir.

               Kashmir dispute is a core issue between Pakistan and India. It has led Pakistan to face three wars and have devoted a major portion of their national incomes to defense budgets. World leaders have stressed the need to resolve the Kashmir Dispute between India and Pakistan to avoid an eventuality that may cause a catastrophe in the region. The long standing Kashmir dispute is a threat to Peace and Stability of the region and it is a major of cause of continued tension between the south Asian nuclear powers.

               It is Pakistan views that the International Community and Governing Bodies should force India to stop shedding the blood of innocent Kashmiris. However, the international communities except China refuse to interfere in this conflict and maintain that this matter should be resolved bilaterally. Government attaches the great importance to peaceful and durable solution of this dispute in accordance with the United Nations resolution and aspirations of the people of occupied Kashmir.

Protest against Indian Oppression on Kashmir

               Kashmir Day has a particular importance to major political and religious political parties of both Pakistan and AJK. All political parties including coalition partners of government, religious parties, opinion leader and people from different societies organized different procession, rallies, conferences and long marches.. They also advocate the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute. People use different slogans to support the Kashmiri’s struggle and to express solidarity with them.

               President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Prime Minister of AJK and President of AJK Abdul Majid would issue some special messages related to Kashmir. They will express solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir. A convention will be held in Islamabad to pay a tribute to the Kashmir martyrs, who sacrificed their lives to get self-determination. The Prime Minister will also host a dinner in the honor of prominent Kashimiri leader of occupied Kashmir.

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Media Infatuation

"Did you watch the latest episode of Zindagi Gulzar Hai?"

"OMG, Fawad is sooo handsome!!"

"I love the way she dresses. May be, I'll get something like that for Eid."

Ever heard such kinda dialogues among your friends and found such people cracked in their heads? :D

If yes, then you're on the same side with me. :D

Pakistani people, especially females have the uncontrollable (and if you allow me to say, rather stupid) habit of getting obsessed with showbiz celebrities. These drama serials portray idealism, fantasies and all sort of dream-come-true luxurious lives - almost all of them relating a female can be only happy if she gets married to a handsome Prince Charming.

The T.V. programs show what we want to feel in our own lives - happiness. Another thing which is quite absurd in my opinion is the Facebook Fan Pages the T.V. production teams (and common people too) create for discussions over the dressing of the actors, individual opinions about the flaws in the script and what not! These Fan Pages are, no doubt, created for publicity but they add up to the number of psychologically affected people.

All in all, I would say that people should watch T.V. dramas  but should not be infatuated by them.

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