A SPEECH TITLED "THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF VALENTINE CELEBRATION ON THE ACADEMIC/SOCIAL WELLBEING OF CHILDREN," DELIVERED BY DR. EMEKA ESOGBUE ON THE OCCASION OF THE VALENTINE SOCIAL PROGRAMME UNDER THE AUSPICES OF UMBRELLA PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS ON FEBRUARY 14, 2024 HELD INSIDE THE SECONDARY SCHOOL PREMISES

 

A SPEECH TITLED "THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF VALENTINE CELEBRATION ON THE ACADEMIC/SOCIAL WELLBEING OF CHILDREN," DELIVERED BY DR. EMEKA ESOGBUE ON THE OCCASION OF THE VALENTINE SOCIAL PROGRAMME UNDER THE AUSPICES OF UMBRELLA PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS ON FEBRUARY 14, 2024 HELD INSIDE THE SECONDARY SCHOOL PREMISES

PROTOCOLS

It is my pleasure to stand before you, the students of Umbrella Schools to deliver this speech. I am happy that you found me worthy to do this talk today being Valentine's Day and I believe that after this talk, I will have succeeded in refreshing your memory on the entailment of Valentine's Day and the negative vices especially, that it might invite to you, the students of this citadel of knowledge.

INTRODUCTION

Today is Valentine's Day and it looks very beautiful to find you in red and white outfits in celebration of this feast. I know that some of you have mapped out your strategies as to how you should celebrate the festival. I can tell that some of you have made appointments with your loved ones, hoping to celebrate the feast after your school hours. Anyway, I wish you, all a Happy Valentine's Day.

WHAT IS VALENTINE'S DAY?

Valentine's Day or Feast of Valentine, is an annual Christian feast day celebrated on February 14 in honour of a martyred priest called Valentine. This is according to Alison Chapman in his book, "Patrons and Patron Saints in Early Modern English Literature," Routledge, Pg 122. It is a holiday when lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts. I know that you are familiar with the word, "holiday" but "holiday" in the sense of Valentine, is a festival or religious event which lovers have to celebrate the world over. This is particularly the reason I see all of you, appear in red garments today. What is interesting about the Valentine's Day celebration is that it later became a celebration of romance through folk traditions after it was originally celebrated by the traditionalist Catholicism, Anglican Communion, and Lutheran Church from whom we all celebrate it today.     

ORIGIN

There are different accounts on the origin of Valentine's Day just as there were different Valentines that lived in history but the most credible account states that Valentine was a Roman Priest who was imprisoned and later martyred by Emperor Claudius II Gothicus of Rome. This particular account holds that he was imprisoned for ministering to Christians who at the time were persecuted under the Roman Empire. However, additional or later legend states that he restored the sight of the daughter of his jailer, which is now related to the love that believers in Valentine have to celebrate today. This happened in the 8th century. The interesting thing about the celebration of Valentine's Day is that it may have had its root in Lupercalia, a pagan festival of the Romans celebrated on February 13 - 14 though some authors refute this aspect of connection despite the semblance. Another interesting thing is that Valentine was not known to be linked to love or romance until the 14th century even though Lupercalia was about the worship of the god of love and romance.

THE IDEALS OF VALENTINE'S DAY CELEBRATION

Today, Valentine's Day is reserved for love and romance and is also celebrated the world over by lovers. Here in Nigeria, as we have gathered in Umbrella Schools, our people join the rest of the world to celebrate the festival in promotion of its ideals. Family members, friends, and students get the opportunity to practically reveal love toward one another. It is marked with the exchange of greeting cards, love letters, jewelry, cars, and other romantic items and the evolution of social media has added to the popularity and spread of the ideals of Valentine's Day celebration.

More commonly, celebrants look forward to celebrating the festival in streets, schools, hotels, churches, stores, and eateries, and usually, celebrants appear in red and pink wears that are now traditional colours of the festival the world over.

SHOULD CHILDREN CELEBRATE VALENTINE'S DAY?

We may begin by asking an ideal question on whether students or children should join in the celebration of Valentine's Day. Well, Valentine's Day can be celebrated by children because it will give them an opportunity for a wonderful holiday. If well celebrated, it will allow them to love and be loved and also to be creative. If celebrated right, it can assist in highlighting the importance of friendship, kindness, gratitude, and acceptance among others according to Sheri Gordon, CLC who has written on this. It may well enable them to be friendly to their classmates. Since Valentine's Day is about love, care, understanding, favour, and friendship, children as we see in Umbrella Schools, Lagos, will today benefit from the ideals of Valentine's Day.

There is nothing wrong if parents carry their children along in the celebration of Valentine's because it will only reveal the degree of love in that family. The feast may also be celebrated in churches and classrooms. The holiday is perfectly okay as it introduces love and is an all-inclusive holiday. It can also be a great time to help kids or teens in particular to understand that mankind was made in love and needs to live in love and care for another. There is no reason schools will not allow their students to celebrate Valentine's Day since they can experience a positive emotional boost from being included in the festival. This is what the students of Umbrella Schools are doing today; taking advantage of the festival to understand the values of love for one another, which is an essential enlightenment in raising children.

THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF VALENTINE ON STUDENTS/CHILDREN

Despite the agreement that children/students can celebrate Valentine's Day it must be celebrated responsibly. Sadly, the kind of love celebrated on Valentine's Day is now morally questionable so, many people believe that it is not a celebration for students.

·       Unwanted pregnancy

·       Abortion

·       Contact with Sexually Transmitted Diseases (Including HIV/AIDS)

·       Loss of virginity

·       Drop out of school (Comes with shame and embarrassment)

·       Early marriage (Your parents may marry you off)

·       Effects of early motherhood/fatherhood

·       Bad Reputation

·       Invitation of shame to the family

·       Pre-marital sex (Contrary to the Will of God)

·       Unnecessary Expenses through spending money

·       Addiction to alcoholism

·       Drug abuse 

·       Valentine may amount to infatuation and not love (Infatuation is often a fantasy-based passionate longing for someone else. It can prevent you from acknowledging their weaknesses and may even land you in an unhappy situation while love is often based on reality and is fed on closeness and knowledge of that person. The person you think you love today may not matter to you tomorrow because you are still too young to know and understand love.    

RECOMMENDATION

·       Be close to God

·       Be obedient at all times

·       Guard yourself jealously

·       Avoid bad friends

·       Know the places you go (Don't allow anyone to do drugs and leave you in a dangerous state)

·       Don't steal to celebrate Valentine

CONCLUSION

One can see that while children/students can celebrate Valentine's Day, it must be celebrated responsibly because the feats may come with negative effects. To this end, the children/students should guard themselves jealously knowing that love surpasses a one-day celebration. You, the students of Umbrella Schools, Lagos, are today, examples of just how Valentine's Day should be celebrated as you do today in spending time on enlightenment, and the Principal of the school especially, the teaching staff, and others must be congratulated for this great feat.

I thank you all, my dear students of Umbrella Schools, teachers and non-teachers, and you, the Principal of this great institution for listening to me.