{"id":1809,"date":"2016-02-04T22:34:20","date_gmt":"2016-02-04T22:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifereader.com\/articles\/?p=1809"},"modified":"2016-02-04T22:35:27","modified_gmt":"2016-02-04T22:35:27","slug":"myths-and-legends-of-valentines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifereader.com\/articles\/myths-and-legends-of-valentines\/","title":{"rendered":"Myths and legends of Valentine’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE LEGEND OF ST. VALENTINE<\/p>\n

The history of Valentine\u2019s Day, and the story of its patron Saint is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine\u2019s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. Who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?<\/p>\n

The Catholic Church recognises at least three different Saint’s named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend says that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realising the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. Valentine\u2019s actions were, however, discovered and Claudius ordered that he be put to death.<\/p>\n

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Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to another legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first \u201cValentine\u201d greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl, possibly his jailor\u2019s daughter, who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is said that he wrote her a letter signed, \u201cFrom your Valentine. \u201d This expressions still in use today.<\/p>\n

The truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasise his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and, most importantly a romantic figure.<\/p>\n

By the middle ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular Saints in England and France.<\/p>\n

ORIGINS OF VALENTINE\u2019S DAY AS A PAGAN FESTIVAL IN FEBRUARY<\/p>\n

While some believe that Valentine\u2019s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine\u2019s death or burial, that has been said, probably occurred around A.D. 270, others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine\u2019s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to \u201cChristianise\u201d the pagan celebration of Lupercalia, celebrated around February 15. Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.<\/p>\n

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather in a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or Lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat\u2019s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets,
\ngently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year.<\/p>\n

According to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city\u2019s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.<\/p>\n