Valentines Day
February 14, 2006

As we have once more endured a Valentines Day of Madison Ave. type hype it would seem appropriate to consider its origins . In Rome in the Third Century the Ruler was Caesar Claudius the Second. He was a man of great ambitions and required an army of sufficient strength to ensure these ambitions were fulfilled. He was encountering some difficult in recruiting enough men to achieve this goal. He was also a despot with limited intelligence yet one who believed he was very wise and smart. To achieve his objects he determined that the problem of recruiting was caused by the enjoyable home life of the young men. So he decided to eradicate the problem and banned all marriages in Rome. This was a most unpopular decision as well as being kind of stupid.

At this time there was a priest names Valentine. It is possible that he was a priest in the Roman tradition and not a Christian although it would appear he was inclined to favour the Christian martyrs of the day.

He went ahead and married people in defiance of the edict from Caesar who, when informed of the matter, promptly ordered his arrest and subsequently had him beaten to death and then beheaded. Such was not unusual in these times.

Now on February 14th it was the custom in pagan Rome to pay homage and celebrate the Queen of the Gods, Juno to whom many temples were erected throughout the Roman Empire. She was considered the Goddess of Love. The feasting was called Lupercalia and was a riotous event recognizing the great importance of women in society. This was not the practice on most days. Some three hundred years after the death of Claudius and Valentine the Church, with great wisdom, elected to have its own feast day on the same February date so that both religions could feel united. The Pope, at the time, Galadius , elected Valentine to Sainthood and thereafter there was a Christian holy day or holiday on February 14th to celebrate Love.

It did not achieve any great distinction until the 19th Century when the practice of mailing Valentines to all and sundry became a tradition strongly emphasized by such as La Senza, Hallmark Cards, Laura Secord and a multitude of florists.

This is another example of the Church integrating it’s festivals with the pagan Roman Gods to solidify its position throughout the Empire and, in later years, with other local festivals throughout the world.

These few facts were compiled from several websites. There were many of them and many variations so we must disclaim any responsibility for their accuracy.

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