Valentines Day Article : History of Valentines Day
Valentines Day is arriving! Like every year you are planning
to celebrate the day with your special person. Valentines
Day is the day of romance when lovers exchange gifts, flowers
and love messages among each other. But why do we celebrate
the day as the day of romance? There are many stories associated
with the day of Romance. But it is believed that the day is
celebrated in the name of a saint called St. Valentine. The
origin of the lovers’ day dates back in fourth Century
in the time of the Roman Empire.
In the ancient times the Romans used to have a festival known
as Lupercalia, which was celebrated in ancient times in the
honor of Roman God of fertility Lupercus. The festival was
held on 15th of February every year. On the eve of Lupercalia
a name drawing custom was held in which the names of the teen-age
girls were written in a slip of paper and was placed into
jars. Each young man used to draw a girl’s name from
the jar and she used to be his beloved for the whole year.
Since then the day 14th February is considered to be the day
of love- a day when lovers express their feelings and spend
the day together.
Valentines Day is celebrated in the name of St. Valentine,
a bishop who existed in 3rd Century Rome when the city was
ruled by Emperor Claudius II. Claudius did not want his soldiers
to fall in love or get married. He believed that single men
make better soldiers than those with wives and children. He
therefore banned love and marriages in his kingdom. The bishop
St. Valentine thought it to be an injustice to the young hearts.
He defied the emperor’s order and started conducting
marriages of young couples secretly. When Claudius got the
whiff of the bishop’s heinous deeds he ordered that
the bishop must be thrown into the dark dungeon. While in
jail bishop Valentine made friendship with the jailor’s
blind daughter Julia. He gradually fell in love with Julia.
When Claudius came to know about the matter Valentine was
assassinated. On the day of his death the priest wrote a farewell
message to Julia and signed it by writing “from your
Valentine”. Thus the great man who gave up his life
for love was chosen to be the ‘saint of love’.
He died on 14th of February and so the day is celebrated as
the day of lovers.
Even before the theory of Valentines Day the lovers of different
countries used to celebrate the spring festival in the month
of February. In Italy during the spring festivals young men
and women used to listen to love poems and romantic music
spending some intimate and romantic moments together. This
custom of pairing of young couples was also popular in France.
In England names of young maidens were written on papers and
put on bowls. Then young men would draw names of the young
girls from the bowls and choose their sweethearts who would
be their mates for that whole year.
Therefore February has always been the season for lovers
even before the popularity of Valentines Day. There is also
a popular belief that even the lovebirds chose their soul
mates during this month specifically on between 14th and 15th
February. No doubt why those colorful always in pair lovebirds
are associated with lovers and Valentine’s day!
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