However, the celebration of the 14 of February actually began in the ancient Roman tradition festival of Lupercalia. Lupercalia is the festival of fertility that originally was celebrated on the February 15 but with the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire on 496 AD, the festival then was changed to February 14th the Saint Valentine’s Day. In a way, the Romas Christianised the Lupercalia celebration
In the ancient Roman history, February was considered a time for purification as it marks the beginning of the season spring. Houses were cleansed through some special ritual that consist of sweeping the dust out and sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called Spelt all throughout the interior of the house.
To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave, Palatine Hill, where Romulus and Remus were believed to be raised by a she-wolf before they eventually founded Rome. There, the Luperci would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.
The pagan males would then sliced the goat skins into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping women and fields of crops with the goat skin strips. The pagan females welcomed being “touched” with the strips because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year.
To the Pagan Romans, February was sacred to Goddess Juno Februata, the goddess of fever of love, and of women and marriage. In conjunction with this day, young pagan women in the city would place their names in a big pot. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the pot and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. Those whose name was drawn would become a “couple,” joining in erotic games at feasts and parties celebrated throughout Rome. After the festival, they would remain sexual partners for the rest of the year.
This tradition was practiced by the Pagan Romans for centuries and often ended in marriage. However, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14th a Saint Valentine's Day around 498 A.D, The Pagan Roman "lottery" pairing culture was deemed un-Christian and outlawed and so the tradition was banished from the celebration of Saint Valentine’s Day on February 14th.
Over the centuries, St. Valentine’s Day cards became popular, especially by the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. These cards were painted with pictures of Cupid and hearts, and meticulously decorated with lace, silk or flowers. These cards were given by the males mostly to the women that their heart desire and mostly will sign the card with, “from your Valentine”.
There may be doubts regarding the actual identity of Valentine, he has been proven existed because archaeologists have recently unearthed a Roman catacomb where an ancient church dedicated to a Saint named, Valentine was built.
Valentine’s Day’s legend or history or origin is quite murky but no matter in what version researcher may stumble upon, all of the stories certainly emphasises Valentine’s appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and of course, a significant romantic figure and the celebration is all about love.<
AGAIN, I'm NOT saying one MUST NOT celebrate V'Day... All I'm saying is that, one should understand what a celebration is all about AND celebrate it moderately...
