History of Valentine's Day
To love or not to love? To believe in love or in sin? That last one is the real question when it comes to the history of Valentine's Day. While most think the holiday has Christian origins, others point out some very possible pagan, Roman ones. The truth is both. Valentine's Day is a day originating in some very un-Christian practices that was later claimed and reinvented by the church.
Reading about the day of love can be both confusing and depressing. Confusing when it comes to pinning down the true author of such a romantic day because there are at least seven different theories that presume to be the real explanation of its origin.
One of the most compelling pieces of history has to do with the legend that Valentine's Day was created to commemorate the death of at least two martyrs in the Catholic Church. A priest that was killed in 270 CE by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus, who wrote a love note to his jailer's daughter and signed it as "Your Valentine". The other claim is a bishop by the name Valentin of Terni, who was also killed because he defied emperors orders and was marrying couples secretly to spare the husbands from the war.
A completely different take on the holiday is the belief it's based on the celebration of a Roman festival called the Lupercalia. This festivity was held in the middle of February. The festival "celebrated the coming of Spring, included fertility rites, and the pairing off of women with men by lottery" (Encyclopedia Brittanica).
This event was extremely bloody and unromantic. "The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would. . . dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields. . . Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year" (HISTORY). Later, in the 5th century, this festival was replaced with Saint Valentine's Day by the Catholic Church.
During this Roman party, love was highly celebrated. Not love like you and me think of it. It was more about fertility and lust. As you research deeper and deeper into the origins of Valentine's Day, you start to see more and more the influence that the Romans could have had on this day.
It was always observed during the month of February, it had to do with a men and a woman coming together in a sexual way, and even the Cupid was the picture that represented this day.
Many other holidays in our calendars have to do with pagan rituals, some are well-known and some are not. The Catholic Church has transformed these dates to a more Christian meaning and that is how we have redeemed most of them.
Valentine's Day was originally a Roman-descended festival that was full of sin and lust, but it has become a day reclaimed for true love. History proves once again that love wins over sin.
Sources:
Reading about the day of love can be both confusing and depressing. Confusing when it comes to pinning down the true author of such a romantic day because there are at least seven different theories that presume to be the real explanation of its origin.
One of the most compelling pieces of history has to do with the legend that Valentine's Day was created to commemorate the death of at least two martyrs in the Catholic Church. A priest that was killed in 270 CE by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus, who wrote a love note to his jailer's daughter and signed it as "Your Valentine". The other claim is a bishop by the name Valentin of Terni, who was also killed because he defied emperors orders and was marrying couples secretly to spare the husbands from the war.
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| Festival of Lupercalia |
A completely different take on the holiday is the belief it's based on the celebration of a Roman festival called the Lupercalia. This festivity was held in the middle of February. The festival "celebrated the coming of Spring, included fertility rites, and the pairing off of women with men by lottery" (Encyclopedia Brittanica).
This event was extremely bloody and unromantic. "The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would. . . dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields. . . Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year" (HISTORY). Later, in the 5th century, this festival was replaced with Saint Valentine's Day by the Catholic Church.
During this Roman party, love was highly celebrated. Not love like you and me think of it. It was more about fertility and lust. As you research deeper and deeper into the origins of Valentine's Day, you start to see more and more the influence that the Romans could have had on this day.
It was always observed during the month of February, it had to do with a men and a woman coming together in a sexual way, and even the Cupid was the picture that represented this day.
Many other holidays in our calendars have to do with pagan rituals, some are well-known and some are not. The Catholic Church has transformed these dates to a more Christian meaning and that is how we have redeemed most of them.
Valentine's Day was originally a Roman-descended festival that was full of sin and lust, but it has become a day reclaimed for true love. History proves once again that love wins over sin.
Sources:
- “History of Valentine’sDay.” HISTORY, https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2. Accessed 13 Feb. 2020.
- “Valentine’s Day | Definition, History, & Traditions.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Valentines-Day. Accessed 13 Feb. 2020.
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