2008 Woodie Awards
Valentine's Day stems from fourth century Roman tradition
Justin Ward
Issue date: 2/14/02 Section: Features
Feb. 14, 2002
Through the hustles and bustles of buying roses, chocolates and corny cards, few people stop to realize where Valentine's Day originated and why every Feb. 14 they can indulge in a little extra love.
The story of Valentine's Day begins in Rome in the fourth century B.C. Records show that the Roman citizens celebrated the feast of Lupercal Feb. 15. During this festival, the names of teen-age women were placed in a box, and the young men would then draw a name from the box. Whichever maiden the young man drew would be his partner for a period of one year until the next drawing. Some of the partnerships would eventually lead to marriage.
This festival was outlawed centuries later when Rome became the center of the early Christian church.
Pope Galasius issued a decree in A.D. 496 which forbade celebrations of the Lupercalian festival. The pope did not do away with the celebration outright, though.
The drawing was still held, except now, the citizens pulled out the name of a saint instead of a woman. The young men were expected to emulate the life of their chosen saint for the rest of the year.
The church still needed some martyr or saint to dedicate the festival to, so they found an ideal candidate who had been executed by the emperor Claudius some 200 years earlier to become Saint Valentine.
Claudius was waging war on several fronts and was badly in need of soldiers. He felt that single men would make the best fighters because married men might be less willing to leave their homes and families. And so, he outlawed marriage.
Bishop Valentine did not like this decision at all. He let it be known that he would perform marriage services secretly. When he was discovered and brought before Claudius, he tried to convert the emperor. This did not move Claudius at all, and he sentenced Valentine to death.
While waiting for execution, Valentine fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. This jailer could do nothing to avert the bishop's fate. The day before he died, Valentine asked for pen and paper to write a farewell to his beloved.
Through the hustles and bustles of buying roses, chocolates and corny cards, few people stop to realize where Valentine's Day originated and why every Feb. 14 they can indulge in a little extra love.
The story of Valentine's Day begins in Rome in the fourth century B.C. Records show that the Roman citizens celebrated the feast of Lupercal Feb. 15. During this festival, the names of teen-age women were placed in a box, and the young men would then draw a name from the box. Whichever maiden the young man drew would be his partner for a period of one year until the next drawing. Some of the partnerships would eventually lead to marriage.
This festival was outlawed centuries later when Rome became the center of the early Christian church.
Pope Galasius issued a decree in A.D. 496 which forbade celebrations of the Lupercalian festival. The pope did not do away with the celebration outright, though.
The drawing was still held, except now, the citizens pulled out the name of a saint instead of a woman. The young men were expected to emulate the life of their chosen saint for the rest of the year.
The church still needed some martyr or saint to dedicate the festival to, so they found an ideal candidate who had been executed by the emperor Claudius some 200 years earlier to become Saint Valentine.
Claudius was waging war on several fronts and was badly in need of soldiers. He felt that single men would make the best fighters because married men might be less willing to leave their homes and families. And so, he outlawed marriage.
Bishop Valentine did not like this decision at all. He let it be known that he would perform marriage services secretly. When he was discovered and brought before Claudius, he tried to convert the emperor. This did not move Claudius at all, and he sentenced Valentine to death.
While waiting for execution, Valentine fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. This jailer could do nothing to avert the bishop's fate. The day before he died, Valentine asked for pen and paper to write a farewell to his beloved.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 6
Cathy T.
posted 1/29/08 @ 9:40 AM CST
This is pieced together neatly, but seems full of inaccuraties. St. Valentine's Day is the feast day of the death of St. Valentine, who spent his life trying to convert pagans to Christianity. (Continued…)
Hunter
posted 1/31/08 @ 12:45 AM CST
David, double check your history of calendars. The Gregorian calendar is based off of the Julian calendar made by Julius Caesar back in 46 BC.
Can you guess what the Romans called the second month in the Julian calendar?
Februarius. (Continued…)
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