Valentines Day: Where Did It Come From?

Each year, on February 14th, lovers everywhere exchange gifts, cards, flowers and candy to demonstrate their undying love. This holiday, as everyone knows, is called Valentines Day. Being the curious person that I am, I wanted to know more about the origins of this lover’s holiday. I knew that the day was named after a Saint Valentine but that was about all I knew so I did a bit of digging and unearthed more details about Valentines Day and it’s origins. Following is what I discovered.

St. Valentines day has it’s origins in ancient Roman paganism. According to history, during ancient Roman times, the month of February was considered the formal beginning of spring. It was a time of purification after the winter. Homes were ceremonially cleansed by thoroughly sweeping them. This was followed by a sprinkling of salt and spelt (a type of wheat) around the interiors.

Another ritual marking the rites of spring was a festival called Lupercalia which began on February 15. It was a festival of fertility and was dedicated to the Roman god of agriculture, Faunus and also to the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

To launch the festivities an order of priests, called the Luperci (rough translation “wolf men“), would gather at a cave. The cave was considered sacred and was supposed to be the place where the two founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus were cared for as infants by the she-wolf Lupa. At this gathering the priests would sacrifice a goat (for fertility) as well as a dog (for purification).

The goat’s hide was then sliced into strips and dipped into the sacrificial blood. The strips would then be used to slap both women and fields of crops to ensure the fertility of both in the coming year. Later on in the day, the young women of the city would place their written names in a large urn. The young bachelors of the city were then allowed to choose a name from the urn. The name of the maiden chosen would become their partner for the year. These “love” matches would often end in a marriage. These were the origins of St. Valentines Day.

You’re probably wondering by now how a saint named Valentine fits into this picture aren’t you? Well, let’s find out!