Submitted by Storyteller on
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Was Valentine’s Day always celebrated as Valentine’s Day? Well no, it wasn’t. In ancient times, the pagans celebrated the time period around February 14th as Lupercalia. Lupercalia was a Roman festival dedicated to the pagan god, Lupercus who was the god of the shepherds. Lupercus was identified with the Roman god, Fauna and the Greek god, Pan. For those of you who are not aware, Pan was a nature god and ruled over the woods and fields. He was pictured as half man, half goat with horns and hoofs. He often played a flute and was known for his sexual prowess.
Now, Lupercalia was originally celebrated as a fertility ritual and it was very interesting. It began with the sacrifice of two goats. After the sacrificial feast, two young appointed Luperci or priests would cut thongs from the skins of the goats, called Februa. They would then dress themselves up with the skins of the goats, imitating the god, Lupercus or Pan. They would run around the city with the thongs in their hands. The women in the village would line up to receive a strike from the thongs to ensure fertility. It was a joyous ritual to promote health and fertility to the village.
Lupercalia was later abolished by the Church and replaced by St. Valentine’s Day. Now according to the Legenda Aurea, St. Valentine was a Christian priest who was being interrogated by the Roman Emperor, Claudius II. Claudius tried to convert St. Valentine to roman paganism and when he would not, he ordered him to be executed. While St. Valentine was in jail, he made friends with the jailer’s daughter who was blind. Before his execution he was known to have performed a miracle by healing her. It was purported that just before he died, St. Valentine wrote a note to the girl, calling her, his beloved and signing the note, from your valentine.
The actual practice of exchanging Valentine’s Day cards later became popular in England during the 1800’s.
I find it fascinating that historically this period has been celebrated as a time of love and fertility, regardless of the ruling authority. It is a time to reach out and tell your friends and beloved that you love them. It is a time to remember to practice Jesus’ commandment to Love thy neighbor and to practice Buddha’s doctrine of compassion for all human beings regardless of nationality, religion, race, gender or creed. We should all strive to live more harmoniously together as one world and one people under God.
Jill Lowy
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