The dark origins of Valentine's Day and how it became the celebration of love as we know it today

Valentine's Day is one of those occasions when we celebrate love and show the people who care about everything they represent for us. It's once a year an opportunity for us to say what we feel towards our special someone or simply to show our gratitude to those who have rubbed shoulders in spite of us.

But Valentine's Day was not really meant to be. a romantic day if we have to trace its roots. We may be seeing people exchanging flowers and chocolates these days, but in ancient Rome women are being badped by naked and drunken men (some women might have naked men bads during the day). Also, but surely for

According to National Geographic, this annual pagan celebration was called "Lupercalia", a wine-fed fertility rite that takes place all over the world. In February, at least 150 years until Constantine legalizes Christianity in the Roman Empire.

During the festivities, girls were lined up while men half naked hit them with animal skin bads, usually dogs or goats they had just killed, for the sacrifice – believing that it would increase their fertility and that it would bring healthy babies to pregnant women. he also included a matching lottery in which men drew women's names from a pot or urn and badembled with those they had chosen throughout the festival – or longer if they were happy with their match.

But how did this raw holiday become the celebration of the love we know today?

From macabre to "healthy"

The Roman Empire becoming less pagan and more Christian, Lupercalia was then transformed into a Christian holiday in the fifth century. Historian and Professor Noel Lenski of the University of Colorado at Boulder said that Lupercalia was a "very popular thing" and that ancient Christians were trying to stop it because of its debauchery and nakedness. To expel the pagan rituals, Pope Gelasius I then attached it to the legend of St. Valentine and turned it into a more "healthy" celebration.

"It was a bit of a drunk party, but the Christians put on new clothes," Lenski told NPR. "That did not stop him from being a day of fertility and love."

There are various legends, different versions of stories, that could tell who could be Valentine's Day and why these romantic holidays were dedicated to him. One of the most popular stories about him tells us that he was a priest in Rome under house arrest under Judge Asterius and who had tried to convince the judge to convert to Christianity. The judge put Valentinus (his Latin name) to the test and asked him to restore the vision of his adopted daughter. and if he succeeded, the judge would do whatever he would ask. Valentinus prayed to God by putting his hands on the girl's eyes and returning her vision.

The judge and his household of forty-four members were baptized and he released all Christian detainees under his authority. At the time, the persecution of Christians was common and Valentinus was arrested again for continuing to evangelize. He was sent to the prefect of Rome, where he failed to convince Emperor Claudius II and was sentenced to death for refusing to renounce his faith. He was beaten by clubs and beheaded on February 14, 269 AD

Other sources say that prior to his execution, St. Valentine had written a letter to the daughter of Judge Asterius and l 39; had signed "Your Valentine", to which the romantic idea of ​​today 's Valentine' s Day is said to have been inspired by.

There were other stories about St. Valentine and some reports say that there could have been two different saints named Valentine at the time who were turned into a composite character. But if there is one thing in common between them two, or none of these stories about St. Valentine, none of them makes it particularly romantic.

We may have created the Valentine's Day we know today

Women being badped by naked men at the brutal beheading of Valentine's Day, how are we? we arrived at a celebration of "heart-shaped bouquets and cards signed with love"?

Literature is perhaps the one to blame.

Over time, the party has become more acceptable and romantic for the public, as poets like Chaucer and Shakespeare have fictionalized it in their works. The New York Times reports that the romantic tradition badociated with Valentine's Day first appeared in Chaucer's poems, "Parliament of Crowds" and "The Complaint of Mars," at the end of the fourteenth century.

In Kansas, Jack B. Oruch and Geoffrey Chaucer may have connected Valentine's Day to romance because February 14 was a time when "… in the 14th century, the British thought that spring was beginning, that birds were starting to mate and plants were beginning to bloom. thought that Europeans liked "Valentine" better than other names because it was a "pretty name".

In contrast, Shakespeare inspired the modern concept of romantic vacations when he mentioned Valentine's Day in . The dream of a summer night and in Hamlet where he alludes to the superstition that two single people meet on the morning of Valentine's Day, they will get married probably:

Tomorrow it's Valentine's Day,
Anytime in the morning,
And me, a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.

Finally, the romantic tradition has become a global phenomenon and has allowed marketers to enjoy Valentine's Day as any other event for which we are spending our hard-earned money.

Whips and beheadings, politics and religion entangled, but agree, let's call it a romantic vacation instead!

Share the love anyway

The origins of Valentine's Day may not be as sweet as the chocolates you will receive or as romantic as your sweetheart (if you have one) plans to give. But we have all come a long way for this special day to be dedicated to the celebration of love and all its forms.

Valentine's day or not, every day can be a celebration of love if we learn to appreciate more people around us – regardless of race, gender, religion and societal status. No matter what day could be spent sharing the love you have so much to give. , be their Valentine.