In the fifth century, the Roman pope, Pope Gelasius, declared that Saint Valentine’s Day be celebrated annually on Feb. 14. A lesser-known fact about this holiday’s creation was that it assisted in the Roman Empire’s gradual shift away from paganism, replacing a pagan holiday with the celebration of Saint Valentine.
Before Valentine’s Day existed as it is today, the same time in February was used for a pagan celebration called Lupercalia. Lupercalia is thought to be named after a she-wolf in Roman mythology. Romulus and Remus were the first to find this she-wolf at the base of Palatine Hill, the place where Rome was founded.
Lupercalia was a loving figure in the two brothers’ eventful lives, and it was the same brothers who gave her the name Lupercalia. The celebration of the same name was meant to honor the she-wolf and to Lupercus, the god of fertility in Roman myth.
During the celebration, Roman priests named the Luperci make their way to the cave said to hold Lupercalia, Romulus and Remus. From there, they sacrificed a goat for fertility and a dog for purification. After the sacrifice was finished, they would take strips of the goat’s hide and dip them into sacrificial blood before giving them to women and crop fields. This festival was believed to bring fertility to both crops and children in the coming year
Additionally, during this festival, the women of Rome would place their names in an urn, and the men would pair with the woman whose name they drew. It was said that the matches made would often end in marriage between the couple. Ironically, years later Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage, believing soldiers were better off without a wife or children.
This ban on marriage is what some believe led to Valentine’s Day. Saint Valentine, depending on the story that is followed in his life, realized that this ban on marriage was unfair to the people of Rome and began to marry couples in secret. When he was caught, however, Valentine was killed.
In other stories, Valentine was instead killed for trying to help Christians escape the harmful environment of Roman prisons. Before he was killed in this legend, Valentine was imprisoned and sent the first, what could know be called, “valentine” to the supposed daughter of his jailor. It is also said that he wrote a poem to the same woman signed with, “From your Valentine,” which is a phrase used in many valentine’s cards today.
No matter which story of Saint Valentine is true, it is known that the Catholic Church, under Pope Gelasius I, declared Valentine a martyr, killed on Feb. 14. Pope Gelasius I then made Valentine a Saint, outlawed Lupercalia, and helped shift this pagan holiday to something more aligned with the Catholic Church. Because of Saint Valentine’s association with romance in either of his stories, Saint Valentine’s Day, now often shortened to Valentine’s Day, quickly became a day in which to celebrate love and partnership.
Officially, the first person on record to describe Valentine’s Day as a romantic holiday was Geoffrey Chaucer in a poem from 1375. From there, Americans began exchanging valentine’s cards in the 1700s. Mass-produced valentine’s cards began being distributed over one hundred years later, in the 1840s by Esther Howland. She often made her cards from scraps and became known as the “Mother of Valentine.”
Although the celebration and meanings of Valentine’s Day have changed significantly through history, some of Lupercalia’s symbols or metaphors have continued even into the present day. While there may be no large festivals involving sacrifice, there is still a widespread use of the colors red and white. These colors oftentimes represented blood or sacrifice and then purity or new life.
Although Valentine’s Day has undergone many changes since the start of the Lupercalia festival, it has become a holiday many of us know and love. Even as Valentine’s Day continues to change, the heart of it will remain: there will always be time to celebrate the love, passion and partnership that surround us all.
