| |
 Valentine's
Day originates from the ancient Roman fertility festival of
Lupercalia, which was celebrated on 15 February in honour
of the gods Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary
founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. In the early days of
Rome, fierce wolves roamed the woods nearby. The Romans called
upon one of their gods, Lupercus, to keep the wolves away.
A festival held in honor of Lupercus was celebrated February
15th. During the festival, young men would draw the names
of women from a box, and each couple would be paired until
next year's celebration. Often they would fall in love and
marry.
At around 270AD Rome was facing battles and civil uprising.
The men were not keen to join the army. Emperor Claudius II
believed that the men did not want to leave their loved ones
and summarily cancelled all marriages and engagements. Two
priests, Valentine and Marius, disobeyed the decree and secretly
performed marriage ceremonies. Valentine was caught on 14
February and dragged to jail. Later in the day he was clubbed
to death and beheaded.
After his death, Valentine was named a saint. As Rome became
more Christian, the priests moved the spring holiday from
the 15th of February to the 14th - Valentine's Day. Now the
holiday honoured Saint Valentine instead of Lupercus. Through
the centuries, Valentines Day became to be remembered more
as the festival of love instead of a religious day. In 1969
it was dropped from the Roman Catholic calendar as a designated
feast day.
Also Read
|
