Do you know the history of Valentines day? Link to the rest of the article is at the bottom.
"Although its roots are unclear, Valentine’s Day has become a symbolic occasion whereby people express fondness and affection to those they care about. We’re going to shed some light on the history of its beginnings and look at some of the popular symbols that have come to represent Valentine’s Day.
Possible Origins of Valentine’s Day
There is no guarantee as to the origins of Valentine’s Day, but it does contain remnants of the early Christian church and Ancient Rome. Scholars have offered contradictory opinions as to validity of these legends and the sources thereof. Suffice to say that the following are some of the most long-established and popular accounts of this romantic, yet somewhat ambiguous, day:
Ancient Rome
The celebration of love during the month of February has also been linked to legends that attribute Valentine’s Day origins to a festival in ancient Rome.
Lupercalia was a pagan festival held in Rome during the middle of the month; its purpose was to bring forth purification and fertility. It is thought that part of the worship was to honour the pagan god Faunus, Rome’s god of fertility.
The other intent was to pay tribute to Lupa, a she-wolf, who is part human, part wolf. The myth goes that the orphans Romulus and Remus, who would eventually found Rome, were the twin sons of (the God) Mars and (the mythical Princess) Rhea. The king sent an order for them to be killed but instead pity was imparted upon them and they were sent down the Tiber River in a basket. They were found by what is said to be a wolf, who suckled and cared for them.
Regardless of the purpose, part of the celebration was to sacrifice animals and use their bloody skins to subsequently slap young maidens to bestow fertility upon them.
It is a common belief that during the 5th century A.D. the Christian church (Pope Gelasius I) decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in an effort to Christianize celebrations of the Pagan Lupercalia ... as they have done with Solstice{Christmas}, Halloween{All Saints Day}, Imbolc{Candlemas}, Easter{Ostara}.
Early Christian Church (St. Valentine)
If we observe the origins of Valentine’s Day from the Christian church perspective, we’ll find that there were several saints canonized as Valentine. There is some obscurity as to the identity of the one real Saint Valentine; some speculate that it could be the celebration of one or a number of martyred saints with that same name.
A common representation of one such saint, as was characterized in the Nuremberg Chronicle, was a defiant roman priest, from 3rd century A.D., who was ruled by Emperor Claudius II, aka Claudius Gothicus. At one point Claudius II banned marriage. He needed many soldiers to leave home for lengthy periods of time to fight battles and found that they were rather unproductive because they were homesick for their family and loved ones.
Valentine thought the ban was unfair and continued to marry Christian lovers in secret; he also aided and cared for Christians, which at that time was persecuted by law. Valentine’s activities were found out and he was sentenced to confinement - and later to death. While he was imprisoned, couples whom he wed would visit him and while in his cell they passed flowers and notes to him to show support for his valour.
During his time in custody Valentine had also fallen in love with the jailor’s blind daughter. On the day that Father Valentine was supposed to executed, he passed a note to the girl and signed it “From your Valentine”. The story goes that before he was beheaded, he restored the daughter’s sight."
http://www.sexinfo101.com/valentines_day_history.shtml
This is something I didn't know and found very interesting...So did you already know this little bit of history?
|
