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Valentine's Day probably derives its origins from the Roman feast of Lupercalia, after Lupercus, the god who kept wolves at bay.
On the eve of
this February 15th festival, the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed in jars. Young men drew the slips at random to select a sweetheart for the year.
Emperor Claudius II had forbidden Roman
soldiers to marry, fearing that this would reduce their motivation to fight distant wars. Valentine, a priest in the early days of Christianity, defied this order by secretly marrying young couples, which resulted in his arrest and
execution. The date of his death is said to be February 14th, though the Roman calendar was different from ours and the date is approximate.
After his death, Valentine was named a saint. As Christianity gained power in Rome,
the feast of Lupercalia was moved from February 15th to the 14th and renamed Saint Valentine's Day. |
