The History of Valentines Day

Valentine's Day – The History of a Holiday

It's a day devoted to love, winged babies, hearts, candy, flowers and romance. This modern version of an ancient holiday actually has a very controversial and dark history.

The roots of the holiday began in Ancient Rome as a fertility celebration called Lupercalia and was originally observed on February 15th. Lupercalia is said to also have been the pagan ritual to protect against wolves. The celebration honored the gods Faunus and Lupercus and the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, who are the famed founders of ancient Rome. Legend tells of myths that Romulus and Remus were raised by wolves in a cave in the Palantine hills. As part of the Lupercalia ceremony, young male priests who were known as Luperci, would strike people with strips of animal hide because they felt that this would increase their fertility.

As a young boys right of passage, on Lupercalia the boys took part in a lottery. The names of all of the teenage girls would be put into a box and the boys drew names out. For the next year, that girl was obligated to be that boy's sexual partner. The boys would often give the girl a greeting or gift in the name of Juno, the Roman goddess of love and relationships.

With the invasion of Christianity and the Roman Catholic Church, in around 496, Pope Gelasius recast this previously Pagan holiday to be held on February 14th and be renamed from Lupercalia to St. Valentines Day.

There is debate over which St. Valentine the day is actually named after, as there were at least 3 early Christian saints with that name. History shows that all three were reportedly martyred on February 14th.

The saint that most scholars believe that the day became named after was a priest who angered Pope Claudius II around 270. This is where the line between fact and myth start becoming blurred. Some say that Claudius had declared that marriage was to be illegal because single men made better soldiers than those with a wife and family. Valentine did not agree with the Pope and continued to do marriage ceremonies in secret. Valentine was apprehended by Roman soldiers and killed for the betrayal.

One website tells that Valentine was a prisoner of Claudius II and Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his jailer. Before taken to his execution, he reportedly sent his love a note and signed it "from your Valentine". Another resource, tells the same story but it was not of love. It states that Valentine healed the jailer's blind daughter with his strong faith and sent her a farewell note saying "from your Valentine".

Pope Claudius, in an effort to end the harsh pagan celebration, made slight changes to the festivities. The names of the saints were put into a box and both boys and girls were allowed to draw names. Whatever name that the child drew they were supposed to emulate that saint for the next year. The children did not find much fun in this so the church decided to find another suitable saint to take the place of Lupercus. They chose St. Valentine.

Though the name of the festival had changed, the fondness of the love notes was growing strong so it remained part of the holiday. It is said that the first official Valentine card was sent in 1415. Charles the Duke of Orleans sent the love note to his wife while he was being held prisoner in the Tower of London during the Battle of Agincourt.

In Greek mythology, Cupid was called Eros, the son of the Goddess Aphrodite who was the goddess of love and beauty. To the Romans Aphrodite was known as Venus and Eros was known as Cupid. Cupid was married to a princess named Psyche that he loved dearly. Unfortunately, Cupid was not allowed to ever see what his wife looked like. Other myths suggest that Cupid was a happy and handsome young man who went around uniting lovers. Over the centuries, Cupid became to be described as a winged baby that shoots arrows of love.

The current traditions of Valentine's day are an amalgamation of both Pagan and Christian beliefs (as are many other holidays). Put aside the Christian saints who break the rules for love, Pagan deities, stories of lottery relationships and all of the other mythology and in the end, it's all about LOVE.

Shared with Love and Light, Rosalie xo