The
History of Valentine's Day
The
history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint
-- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that
February has long been a month of romance. St.
Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains
vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition.
So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become
associated with this ancient rite? Today, the
Catholic Church recognizes at least three different
saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom
were martyred. One legend contends that 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 -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine,
realizing the injustice of the decree, defied
Claudius and continued to perform marriages for
young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions
were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put
to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine
may have been killed for attempting to help Christians
escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often
beaten and tortured.
According
to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first
'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison,
it is believed that Valentine fell in love with
a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's
daughter -- who visited him during his confinement.
Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote
her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,'
an expression that is still in use today. Although
the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky,
the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as
a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly,
romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the
Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular
saints in England and France.
While
some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated
in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary
of Valentine's death or burial -- which probably
occurred around 270 A.D -- others claim that the
Christian church may have decided to celebrate
Valentine's feast day in the middle of February
in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of
the pagan Lupercalia festival.In ancient Rome,
February was the official beginning of spring
and was considered a time for purification. Houses
were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and
then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called
spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia,
which began at the ides of February, February
15, was 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, members of the Luperci, an order of
Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave
where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders
of Rome, were believed to have been cared for
by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then
sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for
purification. The boys then sliced the goat's
hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial
blood and took to the streets, gently slapping
both women and fields of crops with the goathide
strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed
being touched with the hides because it was believed
the strips would make them more fertile in the
coming year. Later in the day, according to legend,
all the young women in the city would place their
names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would
then each choose a name out of the urn and become
paired for the year with his chosen woman. These
matches often ended in marriage.
Pope
Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's
Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system
for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and
outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was
commonly believed in France and England that February
14 was the beginning of birds' mating season,
which added to the idea that the middle of February
-- Valentine's Day -- should be a day for romance.
In
Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly
celebrated around the seventeenth century. By
the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common
for friends and lovers in all social classes to
exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten
notes. By the end of the century, printed cards
began to replace written letters due to improvements
in printing technology. Ready-made cards were
an easy way for people to express their emotions
in a time when direct expression of one's feelings
was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed
to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's
Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging
hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the
1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first
mass-produced valentines in America.
|
Valentine's Day Symbols Roses
Roses
'Oh, my love is a red, red rose' ~ Poets and scholars
have likened the beauty of their sweethearts to
that of roses. Rose, as the queen of flowers,
symbolizes peace and war, love and forgiveness.
Valentine's Day is a time to send flowers and
gifts to your loved ones but beware! Some of these
beautiful messengers may transmit wrong messages.
Take the most common flowers, roses for instance.
There are formal meanings of different coloured
roses in some cultures. Each of these meanings
is still used in society today, so choose your
colour with care.
White
roses are for true love and purity of the mind.
Red roses are for love and passion.
Yellow roses are for friendship.
Black roses mean farewell.
Pink roses mean friendship or sweetheart.
|
|
Cupid
Cupid, the mischievous son of the Goddess of Love,
Venus, is supposedly responsible for people falling
in love. According to the myths, anyone being
hit by Cupid's arrow falls in love with the first
person he/she sees. His mischievous intentions
have led to some entertaining situations in various
legends. Cupid in the Roman mythology has Eros,
the son of Aphrodite, as his counterpart in the
Greek Myths. The names of both these Gods are
used synonymously with the concept of love today.
Love
Knot
Young
women in strict Muslim households used to send
their pledges of love to young men through messages
woven through the knots of a carpet in an Arab
tradition. This tradition of sending messages
through the knots gave birth to the concept of
love knots that continues to this day.
Hearts
To
a beloved, there is no symbol as important as
the heart. To give someone one's heart means to
give to him or her one's whole being, for the
heart is at the center of one's existence. The
heart stands for the most profound and noblest
of human emotions- that of love. Through ages,
it has inspired millions to rise above the mundane
cares and to get lost in the thought of their
beloved. Thus a heart, pierced by the cupid's
arrow, has become the most famous of the valentine's
symbols.
Love
Birds and Doves
It
was believed that on this romantic day, birds
found their mates. This belief is still cherished
by love struck people all over the world. The
sweet little blue coloured lovebirds have come
to signify that belief. It is said that the lovebirds
can't live without their mates. Dove, in the Christian
belief signifies purity, meekness and innocence.
Hence, these two birds have become the most endearing
symbols of the spirit of valentine day.
Click
on Charm to Return to Holiday Index
|
