The dark past of Valentine’s Day: from blood and gore to endless love
By Andriani Maria Lamprinou
The history behind Valentine’s Day, its origins, how it changed and how it is celebrated today.
Valentine’s Day: such a sweet day where everyone showers their partner with love. That must have always been the case, right?
Well…Not really. In fact, this day used to be much more bloody than anyone would have thought today.
According to an article by NBC10 Boston, some historians estimate that the holiday is connected to Lupercalia, an ancient pagan festival that was held every year between Feb. 13 and Feb.15 in ancient Rome. The festival started happening around the 6th century B.C., and it was a way to honor the Roman god Lupercus, responsible for fertility according to Roman mythology, as well as the she-wolf that took care of the twins Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. But, the festival wasn’t as beautiful as its name makes it sound. According to an article by History.com, animal sacrifice was involved, while many women were getting whipped and beaten by men.
However, the festival stopped in the 5th century A.D., when Pope Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia and announced that on Feb.14, people should celebrate Saint Valentine instead. Even though there are no exact details about how Saint Valentine really was, it is believed that he was a Roman priest who defied Emperor Claudius II and stopped allowing marriages to happen as a way for men to be willing to go to war. Nonetheless, Saint Valentine kept marrying people in secret, something that led to his brutal execution with him getting beaten up and beheaded.
The romance of Valentine’s Day took some time to be added to the day, and it’s not really certain when it started to symbolize love. According to an article by History.com, the closest clue that exists now is an English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, who, in his poem in 1735, wrote about Valentine’s Day being a day to celebrate romantic love.
Nonetheless, according to an article by NBC10 Boston, exchanging Valentines started to appear in the 1400s, while Shakespeare mentioned Valentine’s Day three times in his plays during the 1600s. The existence of Valentine’s Day cards and their mass production became a tradition during the 1800s when Esther Howland started to mass produce them and make them popular in America.
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day has become really famous all over the world. People buy gifts not only for their romantic interests but also for their families, friends, children, and pets. Its cruel past has long been forgotten, and people associate it with love and happy feelings.
So, what are you doing on Valentine’s Day?