Valentine's Day - An Integral Time for Courtship

Traditionally, courtship is the period of dating prior to engagement and marriage.  Courtship is a word that has been used to describe a biblical model for the relationship prior to marriage.  Whilst dating is reasonably casual, in many traditional societies, it is a highly structured activity, with its own set of rules.  Courtship is a great way to start to build a relationship, and also the great way to maintain a harmonious and healthy relationship.

Each courtship is unique insofar as the methods used to honour these principles will be unique in every given situation.  In some countries (including Australia) courtship is something that occurs between two people, but in other countries is can be considered to be the man's job.

Courtship is about open and honest discovery of each other’s lives, culture, background and families that leads up to engagement and marriage.  Courtship is, for the most part, done in public, with family approval.  In some cultures where partners are chosen for young people, usually by their parents, courtship is just about non-existent and replaced with arranged marriages.

Courtship provides the romance and the commitment needed in a relationship, and Valentine’s Day offers a perfect opportunity to build the trust and unconditional love that every healthy relationship must have. 

Courtship does not have to mean Valentine’s cards with cheesy Valentine’s poems or love songs, nor a fortune spent on Valentine flowers or awkward activities that neither you nor your 'courtee' enjoy.  Emphasis is on the importance of honesty and getting to know one another as real people in "normal life" during courtship (as contrasted with the dating habit of meeting during special events and entertainment while on one's best behaviour).

Through the process of courtship, enough confidence is achieved in the expression of each other's love to publicly declare the relationship.  There are four basic elements to a successful relationship: romance, commitment, trust and unconditional love.

During courtship we are continually looking for ways to exchange affection, attention, and to attract and to merit attraction in return.  Courtship in itself does not guarantee engagement or marriage, but provides controlled progress toward it.  Courtship must have objective guidelines allowing either party to stop the process, or at least slow it down.  Entering the discovery phase of courtship acknowledges that marriage could be a possibility but not a promise. 

Courtship is a wonderful way to express romance and commitment to another person.

By:  Sessie http://ValentinesDay.ArticleReview.info