A Brief history for valentine’s day And How It Came Into Being
As Valentine's Day Is Around The Corner, Here's A Small history for valentines day That Will Help You In Understanding It's Origin And Significance
Many people associate Saint Valentine or Cupid with Valentine’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate love and to show the important people in your life how much you value them. That’s fine and all, but do you know the origins of Valentine’s Day?
St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated worldwide on February 14 and has been a festival since the 14th century, when it first became recognized as such. Several theories on the history of St. Valentine’s Day before the 14th century are believed to have contributed to how it came to be observed today.
The origin of Valentine’s Day coincides with the Roman festival of Lupercalia in the fifth century. An ancient Roman celebration known as Lupercalia is observed every year on February 15 and is overseen by a group of priests known as the Luperci. According to legend, the Lupercalia festival commemorated the beginning of spring. This festival also highlighted the time for a lottery that matched women and men, as well as fertility rites.
However, towards the end of the fifth century, Lupercalia festivities were reportedly outlawed and replaced with St. Valentine’s Day. But there is no proof of this aspect of the story.
A third explanation for the origin of Valentine’s Day involves three Christian martyrs who were all given the name Saint Valentine. Saint Valentine is credited with healing the blindness of the daughter of his jailer, whom he had befriended and wrote a letter to as “From your Valentine.”
According to a different version of the legend, Saint Valentine defied the emperor of the time and married couples in secret so that the husbands wouldn’t be allowed to serve in battle. It is stated that this action is the reason that St. Valentine’s Day is a day dedicated to the romantic celebration of love. This remains one of the most popular stories of origin of Valentine’s Day to date.
The idea of Valentine’s Day as a day of love became popular with the 14th-century English poet Geoffrey Chaucer whose ‘Parliament of Fowls’ narrates a group of birds gathering together in the early spring to find their mates.
Ever since then, Valentine’s Day has evolved to become one of the most widely celebrated events across the world with romantic couples and best friends getting together and exchanging valentines day gifts to honour their special bond.
Regardless of the real history behind Valentine’s Day celebrations, we are fervent supporters of the tradition. It is observed as a Christian holiday by some and as a Pagan festival by others. Despite its infinite connotations and theories of origin, Valentine’s Day continues to be celebrated as a day of love and romance.
