Christian Valentine Banquet Decorating Ideas

History

• There are many legends which speak of the heroism of Saint Valentine. Although stories gives conflicting information about what year he lived or whether or not he was a priest, they all agree that Valentine ultimately died for refusing to denounce his faith in Christianity. The legend of Saint Valentine can inspire a celebration of faith for all Christians and a banquet in his name can reflect him in its decoration. Fill your banquet hall with bright red and pink helium balloons. These represent standard Valentine's symbols. Place inside each balloon a message with a quotation from scripture or a message of faith. At the end of the party, the balloons can be released into the sky to spread the joy of Christianity.

Observance

• Place a statue of the saint in the center of the room. If you cannot find a statue, a cardboard cutout or even an artist's rendering on paper will do. The reason for this relic is for a ceremonial toast to Saint Valentine to be done at the beginning of the evening. For this toast, place champagne glasses at each setting. You can find plastic champagne glasses at party stores. To incorporate traditional Valentines symbolism into your toast, cover the outside of the plastic glasses with tiny heart stickers, or create heart-shaped paper coasters for each glass.

Symbolism

• Saint Valentine is most commonly recognized as the patron saint of love and peace. His memory is often represented by symbols of roses or birds. For the decoration of your tables, use white table cloths with small heart-shaped confetti sprinkled around or red cloths with pink hearts. The red can dually symbolize the bloodshed of the Saint for his faith and a heart for contemporary Valentines sentiment. In the center of each table place a small vase of roses. Or you can purchase craft birds nests and delicately decorate them with roses and pink ribbons. In the nests, place fake baby cardinals. The birds symbolize the saint while the red of the cardinal's feathers are in keeping with the traditional Valentine's theme.

Unity

• You can construct some of the decorations by yourself. Make your own Christian Valentines streamers with paper and scissors. Cut out the shape of a person with no face or any detail, just the outline. Have the person's arms outstretched at either side. Duplicate this cutout many times. Connect the figures to each other so that they are holding hands in a long stream. Glue a red paper heart at each connection spot. Hang the streams of figures holding hands around the room as a symbol of unity and steadfastness of Christianity.

Beauty and Faith

• Finally, for the piéce de résistance, for the front of the room, construct a large cross out of wood or Styrofoam. Use glue or pins to fasten red roses to the cross until it is completely covered in flowers. You can even glue little plastic birds into the flowers. All of these items represent Saint Valentine. The red in the roses also suggests love. Hang the cross on the wall in the front of the room or stand it up in a corner. This masterpiece will be sure to amaze your guests and hold true to the sentiment of Valentines Day and the memory of Saint Valentine.