Who Will Be My Valentine — the origin of February 14th St. Valentine day
On the 14th of February each year, people the world over celebrate love and romance. They call it Valentine’s Day. They exchange gifts bought and redeemed. But really, who knows how this day came about? Well, we think we’ve found out, so gird your loins for some amazing facts about Valentine’s Day
As the ancient Romans told us, they celebrated the festival of Lupercalia in mid-February which ushered in the coming of spring, symbolic of fertility. (They even had a fertility rite during the celebrations)
So, during these festivities, the men sacrificed goats and dogs, then choreographically whipped the women with the hides of these animals. This rite also included a match-making lottery where the names of young damsels would be placed into a jar for the young men to pick from. Each ‘lucky’ couple would be paired together for the rest of the festival or for as long as they could last with each other. A perfect match was deemed to be one that could outlast the festival.
Interestingly, the ancient Romans had a further hand in the naming of this day. Legend says that two men, both named Valentine, were executed on the morning of February 14th, sometime in the 3rd century AD, yet decades apart from each other.
The Catholic Church sort to honour these young men by naming the day after the two men and celebrating the day as St. Valentine’s day.
Later in the 5th Century AD, Pope Gelasius combined St. Valentine’s Day with the festival of Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals, but that couldn’t stop the day from being associated with love and fertility.
As years went by, famous authors like Shakespeare romanticized it in their works, and by so, gave the day it’s popularity throughout Europe and around the world.
In modern times however, St. Valentine’s Day is characterized by flowers for loved ones, chocolates, red gowns, and jewellery. It’s a day for lovers to express their love for each other and for single people to take themselves out on a date, buy themselves a gift or simply enjoy the day with other single friends.
Now that you know what this day is about, wouldn’t you grab a red souvenir Jacket for that special person?
