Happy Valentine’s Day

by Duffy McMahon on February 14, 2012 • No comments

“How do I love thee, let me count the ways”, “Love is a many splendored thing”, “Love is all you need”, “Love makes the world go ‘round”. Songs, poems, and letters of love are what we’ve been told are the origins of Valentines Day. But, like many holidays or Saint’s days, observances can be traced back to pagan festivals.

Today we commemorate Valentines Day with jewelry, candy, flowers and romantic dinners. A lovely, if expected, way to let your beloved know how much you care. Now, imagine living in ancient Rome. While there wasn’t a Valentines Day in mid-February, you would still be partying to commemorate the Roman Festival of Lupercalia (Wolf Festival) by sacrificing goats and dogs, after which half naked men would run through the streets whipping young women with the bloodied goat skins. Sounds like one of Charlie Sheens parties. The Lupercalia festival was essentially a purification and fertility rite. I don’t know about anyone else, but being pelted with bloody goatskins just doesn’t sound romantic.
In 496 A.D. it was out with the pagan and in with the Christian. Pope Gelasius banned the festival and declared February 14th as St. Valentines Day. The conundrum is that there were three men named Valentine who were martyred in the 200’s. One was a priest who helped persecuted Christians; the second was a pious bishop who offended the Romans and the third was a priest who secretly married couples ignoring the Roman ban on soldiers marrying. All three were tortured and put to death by Claudius II. All three have been credited with falling in love with a jailer’s daughter and writing her a love letter signed, “From Your Valentine”.
It wasn’t until 1382 that the poet Chaucer, suggested that St. Valentine’s Day be considered a day of romance since it was the time in which birds chose their mates. Valentine’s Day greetings date back to the middle ages. It wasn’t until the middle of the 18th century that friends and lovers began to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the 19th century men’s fates were sealed and commercialism took hold.
Since I still love the idea of a handwritten note, to everyone who receives this, I wish to give you this Valentine quote by Robert Browning:
“Take away love and Earth is a tomb.”
And with all the talk about love…I hope the one person you love the most is you.

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