Febraury means... Valentine's Day and LOVE is in the air.
One of the most romantic holidays is celebrated in six countries every year on February 14th. An estimated 1 billion cards are sent to lovers in the United Sates, Mexico, Canada, France, Australia, and the United Kingdom. But the historic facts of this holiday just may surprise you. It wasn’t as romantic as one would think. In fact-it was quite murky.
It began during the rule of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. Emperor Claudius II had his own thoughts regarding his roman soldiers in training. He believed that the young soldiers would only be distracted if they were married. So he decreed that all young soldiers were forbidden to marry. Along this same time was a well known priest named Valentine or Valentinus. Legend has it that he secretly performed marriage ceremonies for passionate lovers who couldn’t go on unless they were united by holy matrimony. When it was discovered that Father Valentine was performing these secret ceremonies, he was sent to prison with a death sentence. While serving his time awaiting his sentence, it is said that many lovers came to visit him, showering him with notes and roses. While he was behind bars , some say that he fell in love with the jailers daughter and on the day of his execution he write her a love letter that ended –From Your Valentine. Oh, and the day of his execution just so happened to be February 14th. And that was the beginning of a national holiday that would become the second most celebrated holiday next to Christmas.
But let’s take a look at another legend passed down through time. The pagan festival of Lupercalia may have actually led to the declaration of February 14th as St. Valentine’s Day. This festival began with the /roman priests who gathered at a scared cave. This cave was believed to hold the spirits of the two infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. They would then give animal scarifies: A dog for purification, and a goat for fertility. After the sacrifices were made, the towns’ young boys would take strips of goat hides and dip them in blood. They would take these goat strips and gently whip the women and the crops. Now if a young boy in this day and age came upon me with a blood stained goat whip, I would probably run the other way. As for the women in Lupercalia, these goat whips had another effect. They welcomed them quite eagerly as they believed these strips of goat hide would make them more fertile. But the ceremony didn’t end there. At the end of the day all the women would place their names in a large urn, hoping that one of the men choosing a name-would be theirs. Once paired up for the year, many of these happy couples would end up in marital bliss. As a result of thee joyous affairs- around 498 AD- Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day. Eventually this system of pairing couples was considered a non-Christian act and outlawed for good.
While these legends are mere speculations recorded in history, they have been passed down through the ages and have stuck in the minds of Americans as well as others throughout the world. No matter how it all began, the fact remains that every year on February 14th, millions of people come together to express their undying love and devotion to one another. And whether they choose to send a box of chocolates, or just do a simple act of kindness: it all comes down to one thing-LOVE! Have a happy Valentine's Day!