Valentine’s Day is a day to honor romance, love, and fidelity with a kissy-faced expression. The roots of this celebration of sugar and cupids, on the other hand, are dark, gory, and a little unclear in their details.

Despite the fact that no one has been able to identify exactly when the festival began, one decent place to start is ancient Rome, when males used to hit on women in order to impress them.

Valentine’s Day and Those Wild & Crazy Romans

Lupercalia was celebrated in Rome from February 13 to February 15, according to tradition. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, after which they lashed the ladies with the skins of the animals they had just slaughtered, according to the story.

These are the Romantic aficionados “It was obvious that they were intoxicated. These people were completely bare “The University of Colorado at Boulder’s Noel Lenski, a historian, believes that According to Lenski, young ladies would literally form a queue in order for the guys to punch them. Their belief was that this would increase their chances of becoming pregnant with a child.

A matchmaking lottery, in which young men chose the names of women from a jar, was also part of the grueling event on Saturday. Afterwards, the pair would be, uh, partnered for the length of the festival, or maybe longer if the fit was perfect.

Our present day of love, Valentine’s Day, may have gotten its name from the ancient Romans. On February 14 of various years in the 3rd century A.D., Emperor Claudius II killed two individuals, both called Valentine. The Catholic Church commemorated their sacrifice by observing St. Valentine’s Day on February 14 each year.

Later, in the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I further complicated matters by mixing St. Valentine’s Day with Lupercalia in order to banish the pagan ceremonies. The festival, on the other hand, was more of a theatrical version of what it used to be. Lenski continues, “Even though it was more of a drunken bash, the Christians put on their best attire. It didn’t stop it from being a day of fecundity and love, despite the circumstances.”

Galatin’s Day was observed by the Normans at around the same period. Galatin was a term that meaning “lover of ladies.” That was very certainly mistaken with St. Valentine’s Day at some time, owing to the similarity in sound between the two holidays.

Shakespeare In Love

With each passing year, the holiday became even more enjoyable. It acquired appeal across Britain and the rest of Europe when Chaucer and Shakespeare glorified it in their works. During the Middle Ages, handmade paper cards were the tokens of the moment.

A few generations later, the practice found its way to the New World. In the nineteenth century, the industrial revolution heralded the introduction of factory-made greeting cards. In 1913, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Missouri, started mass-producing valentines in large quantities. Since then, February has not been the same.

Valentine’s Day has become a major commercial event: according to market research company IBIS World, Valentine’s Day sales totaled $17.6 billion last year, and sales are predicted to reach $18.6 billion this year.

However, for many, the commercialization of the event has ruined it. Helen Fisher, a sociologist at Rutgers University, believes that we are solely responsible for our own actions.

It’s clear that this isn’t going to be a command performance, says the actress. “If people didn’t want to buy Hallmark cards, they wouldn’t be purchased, and Hallmark would go out of business,” says the author.

As a result, the celebration of Valentine’s Day continues in a variety of ways. Many people will spend a lot of money on jewelry and flowers for their significant others. Others will observe Single Awareness Day (also known as “SAD”) by eating alone and indulging in self-gifted chocolates, among other activities. Some may even be enjoying this day in the manner in which the ancient Romans did. But let’s not go there right now.

legends of valentine’s day

According to J.C. Cooper’s The Dictionary of Christianity, Saint Valentine was “a priest of Rome who was imprisoned for succoring persecuted Christians,” according to the definition. [28] During the Diocletianic Persecution, which took place in the early fourth century, it is quite likely that any contemporary documents of Saint Valentine were destroyed. [29] It was in the 5th or 6th century when a book called Passio Marii et Marthae published a narrative of martyrdom for Saint Valentine of Rome, which may have been based on tortures that had occurred to other saints at the time, as was common in literary works from the time period. The same occurrences are recorded in Bede’s Martyrology, which was composed in the eighth century and contains the identical information. [29] [30] St. Valentine is said to have been persecuted as a Christian and personally questioned by Roman Emperor Claudius II, according to tradition. Valentine piqued Claudius’ interest, and the two engaged in a conversation in which Claudius attempted to persuade Valentine to convert to Roman paganism in order to spare his life. Valentine, on the other hand, declined and attempted to convert Claudius to Christianity in his place. As a result of this, he was put to death. Prior to his death, he is said to have accomplished a miracle by curing Julia, the blind daughter of his jailer Asterius, who was in his custody at the time. When the jailer’s daughter and his whole household (including family members and servants) came to trust in Jesus and were baptized, they were hailed as heroes. [31] [29]

After that, Passio retold the tradition, adding that Pope Julius I had erected a basilica over his burial site to commemorate him (it is a confusion with a 4th-century tribune called Valentino who donated land to build a church at a time when Julius was a Pope).

[30] Later martyrologies, beginning with Bede’s martyrology in the 8th century, accepted the account as historical reality. [30] It was retold in The Golden Legend, which was written in the 13th century. [32]

In addition to the Golden Legend, according to Henry Ansgar Kelly, there is a further embellishment that was introduced in the 18th century and has since been extensively repeated.

It is believed that Valentine wrote the first “valentine” card himself, on the evening before he was to be killed, and sent it to the daughter of his jailer Asterius, who was no longer blind, signing it “Your Valentine.” [34] Valentine’s execution is scheduled for the next day.

[33] Modern Valentine letters began using the phrase “From your Valentine” shortly after it was first used. [34] This tale has been published by American Greetings as well as The History Channel, among other places. [35]

Several sources, including John Foxe, an English historian, and the Order of Carmelites, assert that Saint Valentine was buried at the Church of Praxedes in Rome, which is located near the cemetery of Saint Hippolytus. According to the tale, this edict states that: “An almond tree with pink blossoms was planted alongside his tomb by Julia herself. The almond tree has been a symbol of everlasting love and friendship for thousands of years.” [36][37]

Another embellishment indicates that Saint Valentine arranged clandestine Christian marriages for soldiers who were prohibited from marrying because of their military service.

[38] According to legend, the Roman Emperor Claudius II outlawed this in order to increase the size of his army, feeling that married men did not make excellent warriors. [38] [39] However, according to George Monger, this marriage prohibition was never enacted and that following his triumph over the Goths, Claudius II instructed his warriors to take two or three women as wives. [40]

According to tradition, Saint Valentine is supposed to have cut hearts from parchment and given them to these troops and persecuted Christians in order “to remind them of their vows and God’s love,” which may have been the origin of the widespread usage of hearts on St. Valentine’s Day.

[41]

Saint Valentine is said to have worn a purple amethyst ring with a figure of Cupid etched on it, a recognized emblem linked with love that was allowed under the Roman Empire at the time;[39] this ring was routinely worn on the hands of Christian bishops at the time.

[42] Roman soldiers would recognize the ring and approach him to beg him to conduct their marriage.

[39] Perhaps as a result of its relationship with Saint Valentine, amethyst has been designated as the birthstone of February, and it is believed to promote love. [43]

Traditions of the people

However, despite the fact that the European folk traditions associated with St. Valentine and St. Valentine’s Day have been pushed to the sidelines by contemporary Anglo-American practices linking the day with romantic love, there are still certain links between the saint and the arrival of spring.

While the tradition of sending Valentine’s Day cards, flowers, chocolates, and other presents started in the United Kingdom, the holiday is still associated with a variety of regional traditions in England. When a man known as “Jack” Valentine knocks on the back door of a home in Norfolk, he leaves sweets and gifts for the children inside. Despite the fact that he was leaving goodies, many youngsters were terrified by this supernatural figure. [44][45]

Saint Valentine, also known as Zdravko in Slovenian, was one of the patron saints of spring, as well as the patron saint of good health and the patron saint of beekeepers and pilgrims.

[46] According to an old saying, “Saint Valentine carries the keys to the roots.” On this day, the growth of plants and flowers begins. It has traditionally been observed as the day on which the first work in the vineyards and fields begins to be done. On that day, it is also stated that birds would propose to each other or will tie the knot. Saint Valentine is referred to as the “first spring saint” in another adage, which refers to the fact that in certain locations (particularly White Carniola), the feast of Saint Valentine heralds the arrival of spring. [47] Valentine’s Day has only lately gained popularity as a holiday dedicated to love. Traditionally, the day of love was celebrated on March 12, which was Saint Gregory’s Day, or on February 22, which was Saint Vincent’s Day. Saint Anthony was the patron saint of love, and his feast day is observed on June 13 each year. [46]