Valentines Day

   

          Today Valentine’s Day is a happy celebration of love in which couples give gifts and show affection, all in the name of St Valentine. This man named St Valentine, a priest who served during 14th century Rome, went against orders of the Emperor to cease all marriages due in part that young unmarried men made better soldiers. Valentine continued to marry young men to their brides, therefore he was beheaded outside of Rome’s gates.

Lupercalia Celebration

         There are many myths as to how valentine’s day came to be. Some historians believe that St. Valentine helped Christians escape harsh Roman prisons. Others believe that it deviated from the Pagan holiday Lupercalia, where men would take bloodied strips from a sacrificial goat or dog, and slap women and crop fields in effort to make them more fertile for the year to come. There was an attempt to make Lupercalia a Christian holiday but it was decided that it was un-Christian. One of the sources states,” Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity but was outlawed—as it was deemed “un-Christian”–at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day” (Valentine’s Day). In place of the Lupercalia festival, a feast to honor St Valentine was established and celebrated on the ide of every February to honor the Saint of lovers—Saint Valentine.

St Valentine in jail

         The Valentine’s day card is one of the most classic ways to tell your lover how you feel. When Saint Valentine was arrested and jailed, he grew in love with his jailer’s daughter. The letters he wrote to her, were signed “from your Valentine” which is still a popular way to address love notes to this day. It is even said that he healed his lover in jail from blindness and was known to help people that suffered from epilepsy. In fact, another myth is that he was assigned to exorcise Emperor Diocletian's son from an evil spirit which was really epilepsy. Valentines cure was attributed to sorcery, and he was put to death.

        We continue to hear stories from the bible that we accept as historical documents, so what’s to say these stories of Saint Valentines didn't happen. St Valentine was definitely a very influential Saint. He cured people of illnesses and he truly believed that love between two people should be between two wedded people, which is what ultimately led to his death. Valentine’s Day, back in 270 AD, was a celebration of Saint Valentines life. Today we celebrate Valentine’s day as a day of love, flowers, chocolate, and words of affirmation.

Sources

“History of Valentine’s Day.” HISTORY, https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2. Accessed 16 Feb. 2020.

The Dark Origins Of Valentine’s Day.” NPR.Org, https://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133693152/the-dark-origins-of-valentines-day. Accessed 11 Feb. 2020.

“Valentine’s Day | Definition, History, & Traditions.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Valentines-Day. Accessed 11 Feb. 2020.