What's
The History of Valentine's Day?
- by KissMeGoodnight.com
Valentines Day is arriving! Like every year
you are planning to celebrate the day with your special person.
Valentines Day is the day of romance when lovers
exchange gifts, flowers and love messages among each other. But why do we celebrate
the day as the day of romance? There are many stories associated
with the day of Romance. But it is believed that the day is
celebrated in the name of a saint called St. Valentine. The
origin of the lovers’ day dates back in fourth Century in the
time of the Roman Empire.
In
the ancient times the Romans used to have a festival known
as Lupercalia, which was celebrated in ancient times in the
honor of Roman God of fertility Lupercus. The festival was
held on 15th of February every year. On the eve of Lupercalia
a name drawing custom was held in which the names of the teen-age
girls were written in a slip of paper and was placed into jars.
Each young man used to draw a girl’s name from the jar and
she used to be his beloved for the whole year. Since then the
day 14th February is considered to be the day of love- a day
when lovers express their feelings and spend the day together.
Valentines
Day is celebrated in the name of St. Valentine, a bishop
who existed in 3rd Century Rome when the city was
ruled by Emperor Claudius II. Claudius did not want his soldiers
to fall in love or get married. He believed that single men
make better soldiers than those with wives and children. He
therefore banned love and marriages in his kingdom. The bishop
St. Valentine thought it to be an injustice to the young hearts.
He defied the emperor’s order and started conducting marriages
of young couples secretly. When Claudius got the whiff of the
bishop’s heinous deeds he ordered that the bishop must be thrown
into the dark dungeon. While in jail bishop Valentine made
friendship with the jailor’s blind daughter Julia. He gradually
fell in love with Julia. When Claudius came to know about the
matter Valentine was assassinated. On the day of his death
the priest wrote a farewell message to Julia and signed it
by writing “from your Valentine”. Thus the great man who gave
up his life for love was chosen to be the ‘saint of love’.
He died on 14th of February and so the day is celebrated as
the day of lovers.
Even
before the theory of Valentines Day the lovers of different
countries used to celebrate the spring festival in the month
of February. In Italy during the spring festivals young men
and women used to listen to love poems and romantic music spending
some intimate and romantic moments together. This custom of
pairing of young couples was also popular in France. In England
names of young maidens were written on papers and put on bowls.
Then young men would draw names of the young girls from the
bowls and choose their sweethearts who would be their mates
for that whole year.
Therefore February has always been the season for lovers even
before the popularity of Valentines Day. There is also a popular
belief that even the lovebirds chose their soul mates during
this month specifically on between 14th and 15th February.
No doubt why those colorful always in pair lovebirds are associated
with lovers and Valentine’s day!
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KissMeGoodnight.com
: 2006
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