Happy Valentine's Day
The holiday was named after an ancient Roman priest who sacrificed his life for love. But there's more to the story.
Valentine’s Day is upon us, a holiday with whom we’ve had a long love affair.
How long, you ask?
Its history dates back more than 2,000 years with the founding of Rome. It’s a story of pagan rituals, sacrifice and greeting cards. Throw in some she-wolves and a crazed emperor to boot.
St. Valentine, whom we ostensibly honor on Feb. 14, was a third-century Roman priest who annoyed Emperor Claudius II. Claudius had outlawed marriage for young men because he believed single guys made better soldiers. This dictum left many young couples distraught, and Valentine wasn’t having any of that. So, he secretly continued performing weddings.
When Claudius discovered what Valentine was up to, he lost his mind. And Valentine lost his head.
But Valentine’s heroic defense of young lovers did not go unnoticed by the growing Christian movement, and he was named a saint.
The new religion of Christianity was taking root in the Roman Empire, but the masses still enjoyed the celebrations associated with their ancient pagan religion and its many gods. So, leaders of the church cleverly devised a strategy to co-opt those old festivals with new ones.
Christmas, for instance, grew out of a holiday known as Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the god of agriculture. And Valentine’s Day was merged with an existing pagan festival, Lupercalia, a riotous celebration of the mythical founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, who were raised in a cave by a she-wolf.
Christianity won out, and the ancient Roman deities and myths were ultimately supplanted. But not entirely.
Over the centuries, Valentine’s Day became more widespread, and printers were looking for ways to illustrate their new and wildly popular greeting cards.
Who better than Cupid, the ancient Roman god of love?
So, Valentine’s Day has come full circle, from an effort to bury an ancient pagan religion to a holiday in which its mascot is, in fact, one of those old deities.
You gotta love it.
And Valentine’s Day is only one of a handful of events we celebrate during the week ahead. Keep up with all the festivities in my Essential News column in Florida Weekly. Here’s a link to the latest edition.
J.C. Bruce is a journalist and author of The Strange Files series of mysterious novels (available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, other online booksellers, and at selected libraries). He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and Florida. His latest novel, Strange Timing, was recently named Book of the Year in the Royal Palm Literary Awards where it also won Gold Medals in the Sci-Fi and Thriller categories. When he’s not writing, he’s in training for the World Underwater Ping-Pong Championships.
Sponsored by TROPIC PRESS, publisher of The Strange Files Series of Mysterious Adventures.
