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Lupercalia was an ancient pagan festival held each year in Rome on February 15. Although Valentine’s Day shares its name with a martyred Christian saint, some historians believe the holiday is For one thing, St. Valentine, a third-century Christian martyr, had no connection to love or romance. In fact, the holiday didn’t get its modern association until Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem linking St. Valentine’s Day and mating season in the 14th century, some 900 years after the holiday was established. The festival or its associated rituals gave its name to the Roman month of February (mensis Februarius) and thence to the modern month. The Roman god Februus personified both the month and purification, but seems to postdate both. Lupercalia, ancient Roman fertility festival that was conducted annually on February 15 under the superintendence of a corporation of priests called Luperci. The origins of the festival are obscure. Learn about the history and traditions of Lupercalia in this article. If you’re pondering why Valentine’s Day might feel more ancient and mysterious than a simple celebration of love, here’s a quick answer: Valentine’s Day has roots in the pagan festival of Lupercalia, a Roman event blending romance, fertility, and some quirky traditions. Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 as St. Valentine’s Day in 496 AD, and the rest is this history. moderate the rather erotic activities of a Roman celebration that took place on Feb. 15, and Discover the history of Lupercalia, the ancient Roman fertility and purification festival that some say inspired Valentine's Day. Long before Valentine’s Day was celebrated, an Ancient Roman festival with ominous rituals was held on February 15. Are the two connected? LUPERCALIA TO VALENTINE’S DAY. A drawing depicts the death of St. Valentine — one of them, anyway. The Romans executed two men by that name on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. The evolution of Valentine’s Day is a debated and long discussion. The lovers' holiday traces its roots to raucous annual Roman festivals where men stripped naked, grabbed goat- or dog-skin whips, and spanked young maidens in hopes of increasing their fertility, Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 as St. Valentine’s Day in 496 AD, and the rest is this history. moderate the rather erotic activities of a Roman celebration that took place on Feb. 15, and Similar to the modern Valentine's Day holiday, the Roman festival was celebrated in the middle of February and involved feasting and pairing off partners. However, unlike Valentine's Day, it was a bit of a raucous celebration filled with debauchery, blood, and sacrifice. Valentine’s Day is the Modern equivalent of Lupercalia, even though much of the symbolism of the former has been lost over time, subsumed into the latter’s imagery of hearts, red, white and pink. Those colors, and the same themes, come from Lupercalia; how can we, as Modern Pagans, living in a Modern World, embrace this holiday? Valentine's Day has quite the history. Learn about why we celebrate Valentine's Day, the meaning of the holiday, when Valentine's Day is this year, why Valentine's Day is on February 14, and more. The Roman festival involved two nearly naked young men slapping King Henry VIII declared Valentine’s Day a holiday in 1537. Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 as St. Valentine’s Day in 496 Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. But the ancient Romans had bloodier, drunker and more naked notions to mark the occasion. St. Valentine, a name that is synonymous with love and romance across the globe, lived at a time when the Roman Empire was at its zenith. He is often best remembered for the act of marrying couples in secret defiance of the Roman Emperor's bans. However, the truth about St. Valentine is far more complex, woven from a mixture of historical fragments, religious tradition, and folklore. This has Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated every February 14; this year Valentine's Day falls on a Friday. Find out about the meaning and history of Valentine’s Day, from the ancient Roman Where does the name Valentine come from?. The holiday is aptly named after Saint Valentine, but who exactly was he? Valentine is likely based on a combination of two Valentines who were executed on February 14 in different years by Roman Emperor Claudius II in the 3rd century A.C.E., according to NPR. The holiday gained its name from Saint Valentine, a third-century Roman priest. According to legend, he secretly performed marriages for young lovers when Emperor Claudius II banned weddings. Saint Valentine’s dedication to love cost him his life, but his legacy lives on.
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