Valentine's Day is long associated with
a day for romance where lovers exchange presents and spend
the day together. St Valentine's Day is believed to originate
from both Christian and Roman tradition.
The association of the middle of February with love and
fertility dates to ancient times. In the calendar of Ancient
Athens, the period between mid January and mid February
was the month of Gamelion, which was dedicated to the
sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera.
In Ancient Rome, the day of February 15 was Lupercalia,
the festival of Lupercus, the god of fertility, who was
represented as half-naked and dressed in goat skins. As
part of the purification ritual, the priests of Lupercus
would sacrifice goats to the god, and after drinking wine,
they would run through the streets of Rome holding pieces
of the goat skin above their heads, touching anyone they
met. Young women especially would come forth voluntarily
for the occasion, in the belief that being so touched
would render them fruitful and bring easy childbirth.
The Catholic Church recognised 3 different saints by the
name of Valentine all of whom were martyred (According
to the Catholic Encyclopedia 1908). The 3 of them are
- a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom in the second
half of the 3rd century and was buried on the Via Flaminia.
- a bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) also suffered martyrdom
in the second half of the 3rd century and was also buried
on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than
the priest.
- a martyr in North Africa, about whom little else is
known.
The connection between St. Valentine and romantic love
is not mentioned in any early histories and is regarded
by historians as purely a matter of legend. The feast
of St. Valentine was first declared to be on February
14 by Pope Gelasius I around 498. There is a widespread
legend that he created the day to counter the practice
held on Lupercalia of young men and women pairing off
as lovers by drawing their names out of an urn, but this
practice is not attested in any sources from that era.
One legend contends that Valentine was a
priest who served during the third century in Rome. When
Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better
soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed
marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers.
Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied
Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young
lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered,
Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed
for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons
where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually
sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in
prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with
a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter
-- who visited him during his confinement. Before his
death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which
he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is
still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine
legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his
appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly,
romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages,
Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England
and France.
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