Ever wondered what is Valentines Day? You know it is the festival of love and gifts without forgetting the roses but there is a whole history about Valentine’s Day which maybe you have never thought about. Back in history for a Valentine’s Day memory.
St Valentine! – The celebration itself has the word Saint and this tell us that Valentines Day is something that relates to a saint or an angel if you wish. We sometime mistakenly call this angel Cupid or simple the Love Angel. Valentines day is a festival which is mostly of Roman (ancient) and Christian origin but nowadays this is celebrated worldwide.
The real and confirmed origin of Valentines Day is unknown, however there are many legends and stories that relates to its origin. The most common legend is that of Saint Valentinus.
Valentinus was a priest in Rome during the 3rd century and at that time rules by emperor Claudius II. It is said that Valentinus was executed because he disobeyed an order of the emperor. In fact Emperor Claudius wanted to abolish marriage and convince males to not have any intimate or emotional attachment with females.
The Emperor thought that men without wives and family are better soldiers. As such he made marriage an illegal thing. Valentinus was opposed to this and conducted secret marriage ceremonies for lovers. When the Emperor was alerted of that practice, he ordered that Valentinus to be killed.
Since then, Saint Valentinus became the symbol of love and the angel that unite lovers.
Another legend has it that Valentines Day was in fact started by the Christian church. It is said that Valentines day was introduced so that the Lupercalia Pagan festival can be christianised and accepted. Lupercalia was a somehow barbaric festival using sacrificial blood and doing lottery like “women choosing”.
In ancient Rome, 15 February was in fact the start of the fertility period and dedicated to the Roman God Faunus. However this is just a less known legend related to Valentines Day.
Since our own civilization history has been manufactured and re-manufactured over the centuries by power hungry leaders and religious leaders, it is a bit difficult to know the EXACT origin of Valentines Day. All we know is that, today Valentines day is a festival of love, affection, caring and sharing Valentines day gifts with the person we love. And of course…a whole business of flowers, gifts, clothes and everything that are red.
Happy Valentine’s Day Lovers!