Valentine’s day has come and gone and whether you had someone to spend it with or not. This little holiday has a strange origin. The popular theory starts with St. Valentine who isn’t recognized as just one person but three different people by the Catholic church. Each of these saints was martyred for different reasons.
The second St. Valentine, a bishop, who is also argued to be the first Valentine, is said to be from Terni. Valentine of Terni was also beheaded by Claudius II outside of Rome in the third century. According to the legends of the alleged second St. Valentine; he was arrested for aiding persecuted Christians to escape prison. He was captured and sent to prison, whilst there it is widely believed he healed an ale-ing boy. He also sent the first Valentine to his Jailer’s daughter and signed it “From your Valentine,” the third Vanitine or Valentinus didn’t have a whole lot of information on him just that he was a martyr in Africa with his followers. History from this time period has not been fully documented. However, because of the three Saint Valentines’ good deeds they have been remembered by the Christian faith and celebrated each February.
The celebration of Valentine’s day seems to be a mix between the Roman holiday Luperci and the anniversary of Saint Valentines’ death. The celebration of Luperci was an old Roman tradition that was celebrated by the cult of Luperci. Cult in this case refers to a religion celebrated by those who chose to believe in it. The cult of Luperci was widespread because it surrounds the founders of Rome.
The cult believed that the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were raised by a she-wolf and in that wolf’s honor the cult would sacrifice a goat and a dog for fertility and purification. The goat’s hide was then used to douse women, crops, and the streets of Rome in blood in hopes of becoming more fertile. The women who had been touched by the goat’s hide would then put their names in a big urn of which the bachelors in town would pick from. The pairings from the urn would last for a whole year and many of the pairings resulted in marriage. This celebration became outlawed in the 5th century for not being Christian enough by the Pope.
The celebration of Saint Valentine’s death however carried on, though originally it was just to honor the three saint’s deaths. The association of February 14th and love didn’t occur until much later. A poem was written in 1375 tied romance to the 14th it was titled “Parliament of Foules,” which was about choosing a person to get tied off with. Though verbal valentines had been given throughout the Middle Ages written valentines didn’t start occurring until the 1400s. This is due to a rise in literacy among the peoples of the Holy Roman Empire.
Valentine’s Day has spread all over the world from colonization to exploration people brought with them their holidays and traditions. In Mexico Valentines’ day is called El Dia del Amor y la Amistad, which translates as The Da of Love and Friendship. In Mexico it is tradition to decorate and give roses, candy, write poems, fancy dinners, and give bouquets of red balloons to significant others. It’s very important however to share the love and appreciation between loved ones and friends in Mexico. In Japan Valentine’s Day involves women and girls giving sweets to their significant others or their crushes/friends chocolate then a month later the receiving party on Valentine’s day reciprocates by giving white chocolate on White Day. Canada’s and the UK’s Valentine’s day looks a lot like our own Valentine’s day celebrations in America. With gifts and dinners, stuffed toys and chocolates, and cards and flowers.
