There are a bunch of saints named Valentine or Valentinus. But two are considered the most likely person associated with the holiday. Both lived in the 3rd Century. One was a priest who defied an edict by Claudius II. The emperor felt that married soldiers were not as good as single men. He forbade legionaries to get married. Valentine felt he could not hold back love, so he secretly married soldiers and their loves. He was arrested and executed in mid February. The other major claimant was a Valentine who helped Christians escape from the prisons where they were being tortured. Claudius II imprisoned him. He befriended the jailer’s blind daughter and restored her sight. Before he was executed, he sent a note to the girl in which he used the phrase “From your Valentine”. He also was supposedly executed on Feb. 14, but a different year than the other Valentine.
The Feast of Lupercalia occurred from Feb. 13-15 each year. This was a celebration associated with the Roman god Faunus, the god of agriculture. It was a fertility rite. The priesthood of the Luperci would go to the sacred cave where Romulus and Remus were raised by the she-wolf. They would sacrifice a goat (fertility) and a dog (purification). The goat would be cut into strips of hide that were then dipped in the sacrificial blood. These strips were handed out to single young men. The naked men would slap single women with the strips which would help them become fertile. Some pregnant women made themselves available for a slapping so they would have a healthy baby. Some historians also believe that the names of the single women would be put in a jar and the men would pull out a name. The couple would then have sex for the rest of the festival. This sometimes resulted in marriage. How romantic!
In the 5th Century, Pope Galasius decided to coopt the rowdy Lupercalia into a Christian holiday. It took centuries for the “romantic” Lupercalia to become the romantic St. Valentine’s Day. In medieval France and England, people began to make a connection between Feb. 14 and the start of mating season for birds. It was first mentioned in this connection in a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer. The poem was entitled “Parliament of Fowls which included the lines “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day / when every foul cometh then to choose his mate.” In the poem, the birds were choosing their mates. The poem was made in 1375. Around this time, the medieval “courts of love” were combined with the romance of St. Valentine’s Day. In the 15th Century, people began to send greetings on the holiday. In 1415, Charles, Duke of Orleans (who had been captured in the Battle of Agincourt) sent a poem from the Tower of London to his wife. He mentioned he was lovesick and calls her his “very gentle Valentine”. In his play Hamlet, Ophelia refers to herself as “Hamlet’s Valentine”. By this time, the Roman god Cupid (equivalent to the Greek god Eros) was added to the mix. The god would be sent by Venus to fire an arrow that would either result in love or hatred. Cupid morphed into a cherubic angel whose arrows were only for love.
By the mid-18th Century, people were exchanging small tokens of affection and love notes. In the 1840’s Esther Howland became the “Mother of the Valentine Card” when she mass-produced cards that were decorated with lace, ribbons, and colorful pictures. By 1900, mass produced cards were available so you could turn to an expert seducer to get your love to melt. In 1913, the Hallmark Card company was created to take advantage of the holiday. And Cadbury, Hershey’s, and other candy makers saw a golden opportunity to tap into the holiday.
https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2
https://www.history.com/news/6-surprising-facts-about-st-valentine
https://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133693152/the-dark-origins-of-valentines-day
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/gory-origins-valentines-day-180968156/
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