Nothing says "I love You" quite like being smacked with a bloody piece of goat hide and having your name put in a jar to be matched up for a year with some guy you've never met. Sounds great, right? It simplifies the process of dating and who knows, by the end of the year perhaps fate was right and the stranger selecting the scrap of paper with your name on it might end up being the man of your dreams! It could happen...maybe not today, but back when Rome was founded (traditionally 753 B.C.) or possibly even earlier. Romans, they really knew how to party! This party, Lupercalia, in particular occured February 13-15 and is often pinpointed as the origin for Valentine's Day.
Lupercalia was actually a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
To begin the festival, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat's hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and hit the streets, smacking (gently) both women and crop fields with the bloody hide. It sounds disgusting and unpleasant but Roman women looked forward to this portion of the festivities because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Then later on in the day is when they held the Roman version of "The Bachelor". All the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn and bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. It was common for these matches to end in marriage.
Lupecalia was celebrated until outlawed due to it being "un-Christian" around the end of the 5th century when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day. It wasn't celebrated as a day of love right off the bat however; began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. One legend is Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine realized the injustice of the law and performed marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Another popular legend is an imprisoned Valentine fell in love with a girl, the jailor's daughter, who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it has been said he wrote her a letter signed "From your Valentine," an expression which is still very common today. Ah, NOW we are getting somewhere. This sounds a bit more romantic, although tragic, than Lupercalia festivities, but Valentine's Day in modern times is still a far reach from its origin until the Middle Ages.A common belief in France and England was February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season. So it was romance between birds which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine's Day should be a day for love!
Although Valentine greetings began in the Middle Ages, written ones weren't around until the 1400's. The oldest one still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. I wonder if it ever reached her. This valentine is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.
From the 1700's on, Valentine greetings and cards became more common place with the first ones being printed in the 1900's. Today, over 1 billion cards are sent a year for Valentine's day. That is a lot of cards!
This day to celebrate love has come a long way from its origin. As Valentine's Day 2014 approaches, not only am I thankful for more opportunities to express love to my husband but also that I don't have think about an unknown bachelor drawing my name out an urn and lining up along the street for a chance to increase my fertility!
If you happen to be celebrating Valentine's Day the modern way like me, there are many ways to say "I love you", from handmade cards, romantic dinners, unique dates, to beautiful bouquets! The fine staff at Gillespie Florists have outdone themselves again with fabulous designs this year! Click below to see what we have in store for you!
