the-origins-of-valentines-day

Celebrated on February 14, Valentine's Day remains, for many peoples, the feast of love. But what are the origins of this pagan, Catholic, then commercial celebration? Several stories may surprise you!

pagan feast

Valentine's Day with the Romans

Valentine's Day has its origins in a pagan festival celebrated by the Romans: the Lupercalia. On February 15, the priests of Lupercus, the fertility god of ancient Rome, sacrificed goats and got drunk! Once the ritual was over, they walked the streets, barely dressed, to touch passers-by. The story also has it that during this pagan festival, women approached the priests to be touched. They believed that this small gesture would increase their fertility and facilitate childbirth. Other versions tell rather that the men whipped the women with a strip of leather to make them fertile... Ouch, funny method!

Among the ancient Greeks

The period between mid-January and mid-February was also dedicated to love and fertility.

catholic holiday

It was around 496 that a pope decided that Valentine's Day would be celebrated on February 14, with the aim of thwarting the Lupercalia among the Romans.

Despite everything, the pagan festival was organized in secret and offered new rituals. On February 14, single women were hiding around their village and young men were looking for them. When a man discovered one, he had to marry her within a year. Even married men participated in this race to try to find "the most beautiful girl in the village" and find their pleasure on Valentine's night. No, you understood, the time was not particularly feminist...

 

Valentine's Day and the Middle Ages

A name on the sleeve

It was in the Middle Ages that Valentine's Day took on its full flavor. At that time, celibacy was celebrated more than love. At the end of a drawing of lots, the young men hung the name of their &ld

quo;sweetheart” on their sleeve. If the young woman was in favor of the candidacy, she invited him to a procession held on the first Sunday of Lent.

The birds on February 14

Another legend has it that the birds mate on February 14 or that they get engaged on this date and marry on March 19! The latter gave birth to a belief. If a young girl saw a robin on this date, she would marry a sailor. If she observed a sparrow, she would live a happy marriage with a poor man. In return, a goldfinch “assured” the union with a rich man.

The first Valentine's Day card

It seems that Prince Charles of Orléans was the first man to send a Valentine's Day card, officially at least. Imprisoned in the Tower of London, he sent a poem to his sweetheart, Mary of Cleves, in 1440. He married the latter, who was 14, twenty-one days after his release.

Far too obscene!

It was in the 19th century that anonymous Valentine's Day greeting cards really became popular. But some mailings were so obscene that some governments even had to ban them.

The mystery of the Xs

The "X" symbolize kisses, it is known. And we find them in abundance on Valentine's Day cards. This custom goes back to the origins of Catholicism when the cross, in the shape of an "X", symbolizes sworn faith. Later, those who could not write had to kiss a cross, which had the value of an oath. It is in memory of this practice that the cross has become a symbol of the kiss.

And Cupid?

Finally, Cupid, a famous character linked to Valentine's Day and personified by a young child with a bow and arrow, represents the god of love. Its name comes from the Latin cupido, which means desire. He would be the son of Mars and Venus. If his arrow hits you, you will fall in love with the first person you meet. This legend still has its followers, more than 2000 years later.

Today, it's hard to deny that Valentine's Day is above all an opportunity for companies to make profits by encouraging couples to buy each other gifts. That said, it's a great way to spoil your loved one, as long as things are done above all out of love and without complications... Happy Valentine's Day!