Valentine's Day has a blood-stained history. The tradition of the day itself originated from martyrdoms and pagan traditions, including the whipping of women with blood-soaked hides to improve their fertility. Not so much like the Care Bears and Muppets cards that second graders painstakingly distribute, is it? Well, it gets worse.
One origin of the lover's holiday is the Lupercalia. This Roman Feast was celebrated on February 15th and was meant to purify the city of evil, increasing its health, and especially, fertility. The festival began with the public sacrifice of two goats and a dog. The skins of the creatures were cut into strips and the bloody whips were taken throughout the city, lashing the spectators on the "parade route". Many young women would line up to receive these blows, thinking it would increase their fertility and aid in childbirth. Perhaps this is one reason why Valentine's Day is so much more revered among women than their male counterparts. The instinct to be involved and to take advantage of the day has been developed for hundreds of years. (At least now I get flowers and candy instead of a whipping!)
In the third century A.D., three men were murdered. These men, all named Valentine, became martyrs of the Catholic church. Traditionally, one of these Valentines, a priest, was marrying young lovers against the orders of the Roman Emperor Claudius II, who forbade young men to marry. Forbidden love--romantic, but it never seems to work out. And indeed, Valentine was thrown into prison, where he fell in love with the jailor's daughter. Before his death, he wrote her a love note and signed it "From your Valentine". He was proclaimed a martyr and a day was set aside for his remembrance--the day he was killed, February 14th. But remember, young men, that when you sign a heartfelt proclamation of your adoration with "Your Valentine", what you really mean is that you're about to be tragically murdered by a Roman emperor who hates you and your religion. Now isn't that sweet?
Perhaps we should all take a few moments to reflect where our traditions come from. Today, Valentine's day has transformed from a bloody fertility festival to a frilly, "mushy" holiday. Folk knowledge is passed on in many ways, but since it is usually passed orally or traditionally, it can change and develop into something completely different over time. Another example of this can be found in the Book of Mormon. Without a record, the Jaredites' traditions changed and their language became corrupted, and they even lost the truths of the gospel. Though the changes in Valentine's day are for the better, we should be sure that other traditions have not lost the true values they should encompass. Due to the dynamic nature of folk knowledge, it is always growing and changing and flowing. We must work for it to become better rather than worse. Like chocolates instead of bloody beatings.
Great post on Valentine's Day (in the middle of September??) I loved your commentary through out, made me smile. What sort of holiday, or other traditions, do you think we are losing?
ReplyDeleteI think a fairly obvious one is Christmas. Many nativity scenes and Christmas storybooks are inaccurate. Although slight, the depiction of the three wise men is not accurate, the Bible only says that Jesus was given frankincense, gold and mer. The fact that specifically three wise men came to visit Him is a figment of our past society's composition. I'm not even sure if it matters, but it just makes me wonder; what else has our society molded?
ReplyDeleteThat was a great and very interesting post on the history of Valentine's day. I've only heard that the modern valentine's day is much less gruesome, but I didn't know such details.
I've always wanted to know where Valentine's Day came from! Thank you :) The act of creating a holiday to commemorate people still goes on today. There is Martin Luther King day and President's day here in America. And, though September eleventh has not become a national holiday, people still hold it in reverence to remember those who have died. How does a society create a holiday?
ReplyDeleteActually Emily, Sept. 11th became the holiday known as Patriot Day here in America. This wiki explains more. Apparently the government can mandate holidays, but they really hold meaning only if people respect them and give them meaning.
ReplyDeleteI agree, holidays become holidays when they are treated as such. You can look up lists of random holidays; there are multiple random ones every day. But it is only through the practice and celebration that a day becomes meaningful.
ReplyDeleteThe force of people in this world is truly awesome, we can do anything we want to, so what are we doing?
ReplyDeletePlease try to contextualize your subjects. Why would one talk about this in a history of civ course? The connection to traditions is there, but quite buried.
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