Spring Break
Valentine's Day: A murky past with both Christian and pagan histories
Heather Strojek
Issue date: 2/11/08 Section: Campus
History
Valetine's Day is almost here. Some of us enjoy it and some of us don't. Some see it as nothing more than the businesses trying to get people to spend more money, while others see it as a day to show the one they love how much they love them. But Valentine's Day was not always about the business.
This special day contains both Christian and ancient Roman traditions. There are at least three different saints named Valentine or in the Latin Valentinus.
One legend of Valetine says that during the reign of Emperor Claudius II, Valentine continued to marry young couples despite Claudius outlawing narriages for young men. When Valentine was caught, he was put to death.
Another legend says that he sent the first "valentine" to a girl he had fallen in love with while in jail. Before he died, it is supposed that in the letter he wrote to her he signed it, 'From your Valentine.'
For most the part, it is believed that Feb. 14 is celebrated as the anniversary for the saint, although others say that this is not true.
Some believe it was the Catholic Church's attempt to christianize the Lupercalia festival. For the romans, February was the beginning of spring and a cleansing period. Lupercalia was the fertility festival in honor of Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture.
At the ceremony, a 'lottery' was performed by the young women putting their names in an urn and the men choosing the names from the urn. The church deemed this unchristian and outlawed it.
In England and France, birds' mating season begins on Feb. 14, re-emphasizing that idea that the middle for February should be a day of romance. The oldest known Valentine still in existence is a poem written by Charles the duke of Orleans to his wife during his imprisonment in the Tower of London.
Valentine's greetings or cards go back as far as the Middle Ages. The oldest card can be found on display in the British Museum.
The first Valentine cards in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentines get sent out every year.
Valetine's Day is almost here. Some of us enjoy it and some of us don't. Some see it as nothing more than the businesses trying to get people to spend more money, while others see it as a day to show the one they love how much they love them. But Valentine's Day was not always about the business.
This special day contains both Christian and ancient Roman traditions. There are at least three different saints named Valentine or in the Latin Valentinus.
One legend of Valetine says that during the reign of Emperor Claudius II, Valentine continued to marry young couples despite Claudius outlawing narriages for young men. When Valentine was caught, he was put to death.
Another legend says that he sent the first "valentine" to a girl he had fallen in love with while in jail. Before he died, it is supposed that in the letter he wrote to her he signed it, 'From your Valentine.'
For most the part, it is believed that Feb. 14 is celebrated as the anniversary for the saint, although others say that this is not true.
Some believe it was the Catholic Church's attempt to christianize the Lupercalia festival. For the romans, February was the beginning of spring and a cleansing period. Lupercalia was the fertility festival in honor of Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture.
At the ceremony, a 'lottery' was performed by the young women putting their names in an urn and the men choosing the names from the urn. The church deemed this unchristian and outlawed it.
In England and France, birds' mating season begins on Feb. 14, re-emphasizing that idea that the middle for February should be a day of romance. The oldest known Valentine still in existence is a poem written by Charles the duke of Orleans to his wife during his imprisonment in the Tower of London.
Valentine's greetings or cards go back as far as the Middle Ages. The oldest card can be found on display in the British Museum.
The first Valentine cards in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentines get sent out every year.
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