Since February is right around the corner, let’s look at Valentine’s day. Realistically, it’s already taken up a lot of space in store shelves. However, the history of Valentine’s is far from what it is today.
The Pagan Festival
There is an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia which occurred in February. The exact date is around when we currently celebrate Valentine’s Day. The idea of Lupercalia was to promote fertility in the coming year.
The start of Lupercalia was a pilgrimage to the area where Remus and Romulus, the founders of the Roman Empire, were allegedly nursed by a she-wolf. On the chosen day, members of the order Luperci sacrificed goats and dogs. Then the hide of the goat was cut into thin strips. Each strip later went into sacrificial blood.
The priests then hit women and fields. In Roman culture, the ceremony increased fertility for the coming year. Combined with the ceremony was a lottery. Women’s names went into a large jar and then drawn out by the men. The couple would then be partners for the rest of the festival, and in certain places for the entire year. Many of these unions turned into marriages.
The Bloody Part
There are several St. Valentines that the holiday may be referring to. Most were Christian martyrs inside the Roman Empire that the Catholic church recognized. There are two that suit the legend better than the others.
One of the Valentines was around in the third century. Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for young men at that point, figuring without wives they would be more devoted to the army. Allegedly, St. Valentine continued to perform Christian marriages in secret. This allowed those young men to avoid the army. Eventually, the authorities caught and killed him.
Another of the Valentines had a gift for healing. In the third century, Christianity was a persecuted religion in the Roman Empire. According to legend, Valentine healed a man’s son. The authorities jailed him. While in jail, he healed the jailor’s blind daughter. None of this was enough to save him from martyrdom though.
It’s important to note that historical documentation is a little unsure on who was who. It is entirely possible that the legends all refer to the same man. It’s also possible that they refer to more men than history recognizes.
How Valentine’s Day Changed
After the initial pagan festival was banned for being un-Christian, it underwent a rebranding process spanning decades. The earliest written record of Valentine’s in the role of romantic love came from Chaucer. He attributed the 14th of February as the day birds mate. The tradition of sending cards during mating bird season took off.
Early on, the cards were handmade affairs. Around the 1800s though, cards became mass printed affairs. They often depicted Cupid, a Roman god, and the heart, a symbol of emotion, together. Most early valentines were anonymous, and over time they became signed.
In 1913, the first Hallmark Valentine’s card was printed. It took a few years to catch on in the U.S., but once it did, we’ve never looked back. Today, Valentine’s Day is marked with cards, flowers, chocolates, teddy bears, and more. All of this is vastly different from its origins.
Don’t want to miss a post? Sign up for my email list below!
References
Barry, Anna Maria. A brief history of Valentine’s Day cards. n.d. Web. 27 January 2019.
Bitel, Lisa. The Gory Origins of Valentine’s Day. n.d. Web. 27 January 2019.
Encyclopedia Britannica Editors. Valentine’s Day. 05 September 2018. Wed. 27 January 2019.
History.com Editors. History of Valentine’s Day. 23 January 2019. Web. 27 January 2019.
Schmitz, Leonhard. Lupercalia. 20 June 2018. Web. 27 January 2019.
Seipel, Arnie. The Dark Origins Of Valentine’s Day. 13 February 2011. Web. 27 January 2019.