3 Interesting Facts About Valentine’s Day
It’s the beginning of February, which means Valentine’s Day is coming up! Traditionally a time to spend with your significant other, it’s also become a time to celebrate love of your family, friends, and yourself. Here at Prospector Ranch, our Airbnb vintage airstream or campsite offers a quiet getaway for two or one from the hustle and bustle of daily life.
But, before you make plans, how did this holiday come to be?
To answer that, we have to go all the way back to the ancient Roman Empire, where the roots of this holiday begin.
1. St. Valentine
The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints, all named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred during the Ancient Roman Empire.
Some legends say that St. Valentine was a priest who secretly married couples after Emperor Claudius II decreed it illegal, on account of the belief that single men were better soldiers than married men.
Other legends say that Valentine was the first who coined the phrase “From Your Valentine.” According to the legend, while Valentine was locked up in a Roman prison, he wrote a letter to a young girl he had fallen in love with, signing it “From your Valentine.”
There are more legends than the two mentioned, all theorizing on how the origins of Valentine’s Day began. One thing is certain among them: they all portray St. Valentine as a courageous, kind, and, most importantly, romantic figure, therefore solidifying his connection to love and romance.
2. Lupercalia
The reasons behind the date of Valentine’s day are murky.
Some historians believe that February 14 was picked to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial, while others believe that the Christian church decided to celebrate the holiday in place of a pagan holiday that celebrated on the ides of February (February 15), called Lupercalia.
Lupercalia was a fertility festival paying homage to Faunus (the Roman god of agriculture) and the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.
Activities during the day consisted of rituals to help bring fertility to both women and crops. Legends say that one of the activities consisted of all single women placing their names in a large urn. The bachelors would then each choose a name from the urn and be paired with the woman whose name they had for a year. Oftentimes, these pairings ended in marriage.
3. Cupid
In present day, the word “cupid'' usually conjures up cute little child-like cherub-looking angles, sometimes portrayed holding a bow and arrow in their hands. In some depictions, the arrowhead is in the shape of a heart.
However, this is drastically different from the origins of the name. For that, we need to go all the way back to Ancient Greece, to the Greek god of love Eros, renamed Cupid in Roman mythology. Some stories say he’s the son of Aphrodite (the goddess of love) and Ares (the god of war); others say he’s the son of Nyx (goddess of the night) and Erebus (primordial god of darkness and mist).
Whatever Eros’s origins were, the God of love was described as charming and handsome, one who liked to play with the emotions of both Gods and humans. He carried a bow and arrows with him, using his golden arrows to make people fall in love, and leaden ones for the opposite effect. You didn’t want to cross Eros, as he could make you fall in love with anyone he so chose to, or make your lover be repulsed by you. There are many stories in Greek mythology where he does just that, making no distinction between humans and his fellow gods. A well-known story tells the tale of how he made Apollo (the God of the sun) fall in love with the nymph Daphne, only to make her be utterly repulsed by Apollo.
It wasn’t until the Hellenistic period of history when Eros was begun to be described as a mischievous, chubby child that would become the inspiration for modern Valentine’s Day cards.
Perhaps these romance-themed facts we’ve shared with you could be a topic of conversation between you and your significant other on Valentine’s Day. Or, you could share them with a family member or friend.
However you choose to spend February 14, we wish you a good one!
Information obtained from the article “History of Valentine’s Day” on History.com.
Background picture on thumbnail courtesy of Monstera on Pexels.com
