I was in town this morning looking for Valentine’s Day inspiration and I’m pleased to say our High Street didn’t disappoint! I found lots of things my husband can buy me, haha. I was also wondering why we celebrate Valentine’s Day – so I thought I’d find out.
Why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day?
Because people saw an easy way to ramp up sales in a slow Feb after a dead January? I know that’s what the cynical of us think, but Valentine’s Day actually has its roots in Pagan ritual. The ‘un-Christian’ festival of Lupercalia, also known as the Feast of Lupercal, was held on Feb 15th to ensure the fertility of people, animals and crops for the year ahead. Lupercus being the Roman God of Fertility and Lupus (Latin for Wolf) being connected to the ancient deity who protected herds and the she-wolf who raised Romulus and Remus.
At the end of the 5th Century, Pope Gelasius declared 14th Feb as Saint Valentine’s Day to replace the ’un-Christian’ festivities.
Who was Saint Valentine?
Which one? There were three (or more) Saint Valentines and lots of myths and stories around their life and death. The myths are, well, myths, but all include some level of sympathy, heroism and romanticism. One of the Saint Valentines was said to have sent the first Valentine’s card while imprisoned. Saint Valentine, as well his association with romance and love, is also a patron saint of Terni, epilepsy and beekeepers.
Will you bee my Valentine? Sorry, that was too easy.
Another story is that one of the Valentines secretly defied the Emperor and married couples in secret to spare the husbands from war. There are other stories of healing inside and outside of prison and of persecution when spreading Christianity. Most stories about each and all of the Valentines end with them having their heads lopped off for defiance of some kind and suffering martyrdom.
In 1969, the Roman Catholic Church removed St. Valentine from the General Roman Calendar because so little is known about him but he’s still recognised as a Saint.
Content warning: there are descriptions of animal sacrifice on the following website. Read more about the Saint Valentine myths and legends on the History Channel website
Valentine’s roots summary
So in truth, people have mostly guessed and pieced together pieces of information about the history and roots of our current Valentine’s Day celebration. I personally like the vibes of Lupercalia, the Feast of Lupercal. Mainly because it has the word Feast in it and that sounds right up my street. I think I’ll leave the tradition of animal sacrifice in the past and just continue the new tradition of buying my loved one a card.
Need to buy a Valentine’s Day gift? Shop local!
Head into Thame and shop in person. Or browse the shopping directory on the Thame Town Council website.
