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Valentine’s Day Legend and History
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Valentine’s Day. Every February 14, gifts and nice promises are
exchanged between lovers, all in the name of St. Valentine.
But who was
this romantic saint, and where did these traditions come from?
An old Roman legend says that Valentine was a priest who served
during the third century in Rome. Then, the Emperor Claudius II decided
that single men made better soldiers than those with wives, Valentine
rebelled and started to marry people secretly.
Of course, when
Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius II ordered that he be put
to death… Poor man! However, since people were so thankful to him, they
started to build altars in his honor and place presents there. “From
your Valentine” the dedications said, and expression still very popular
on February 14.
Thus, Saint Valentine started to be a beloved saint and by the Middle
Ages, he was one of the most important saints in France and England.
Of course, there are other legends about the romantic saint and not
all of them of Christian origin. Some historians claim that the
Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s celebration
in the middle of February in an effort to Christianize the pagan
celebration of Lupercalia.
It was celebrated at the ides of February (on
February 15). Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus,
the Roman god of agriculture. Since gods and goddess of agriculture as
always been associated to fertility, these days rituals of fertility
were made and these matches often ended in happy marriage.
Anyway, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the
17th century in Europe and America. By the middle of the 18th, it was
common for lovers of all social classes to exchange small presents or
handwritten notes. By 1900 printed cards began to replace written
letters due to improvements in printing technology.
Today, all around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between romantic lovers.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Yareah magazine readers.
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