History
Romans had a celebration called Lupercalia which was a fertility festival taking place in the month of February, more specifically February 15th. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius decided to declare February 14th St. Valentine’s day in order to replace Lupercalia as it was seen as un-Christian. Valentine’s greetings go as far back as the middle ages but the earliest recorded valentine was a poem by Charles, Duke of Orleans in 1415 to his wife while he was imprisoned.
The Myth of Saint Valentine
There are many different myths and stories as to who Saint Valentine was as no one knows the definite answer to the question “who was Saint Valentine and why is he associated with the holiday?”. One describing him as a priest who served during third century Rome but when the emperor at the time decided to ban young men from marriage as he believed single men were better soldiers, Valentine helped young marry young couples against the emperor in secret. Another story says Valentine helped Christians escape Roman prisons but when he was imprisoned his jailor’s daughter would visit him causing him to fall in love and so he sent the first Valentine signing it with the popular phrase “From your Valentine”.
Origin Myth
One myth about the origin of Valentine’s day was that it was created by greeting card companies in order to make people feel bad and buy a greeting card for their significant other. Since Valentine’s day has long existed and celebrated before commercialization and the creation of greeting card companies, I would say that this myth would be false.
History of Cupid
Cupid is seen as a sweet innocent baby with wings who shoots people with a bow and arrow to find them love but cupid was not always depicted this way. Cupid is really the Roman god of love Eros, originally depicted as a beautiful young man who could make any woman fall in love with him. He had power over gods and mortal alike using his bow and arrow to control others and play with their feelings. He was seen as dangerous as he didn’t have any good intentions with his power and just enjoyed toying with the emotions of others.
Wedding myth
It is believed that the most popular time to get married is on Valentine’s day or that it is the best day to propose which are both simply untrue. The most popular time to get married is June, September and October as it is a much more beautiful time of year to tie the knot. When it comes to proposing on Valentine’s day, most women would rather make it another day as doing it on the holiday for love makes it too predictable and not wanting to be similar to the many other people who do the same.