Wolves, Goats, Martyrs and War: a History of Valentine's Day
Valentines Day is one of the most enigmatic of holidays, having
appeared in many forms. But all “Valentine’s Days” have
drawn suspicion. In fact, after hundreds of years of attempted
reform, Christian observance came to an end when the Catholic
Church purged St. Valentine’s Day from its calendar in 1969.
Still, the holiday continues to inspire an annual avalanche
of cards, not to mention the mass consumption of chocolates,
flowers and sometimes, pricier presents. What do we commemorate
when we celebrate Valentine’s Day?
- Running with the Wolves
If you’ve ever researched the history of Valentines Day,
you know it began with wolves and ancient Spring magic. The
earliest instance we know of starts with the tough old shepherds
and founders of Rome who feared and respected the wolves that
preyed on their flocks. Once a year, they held sacrifices to
Lupercus, the god of shepherds, enemy of wolves, and friend of
dogs. Other shepherds sacrificed to Faunus, who also protected
shepherds but was part goat.
The celebration, called Lupercalia, was held during early
spring, which since time immemorial has been a season for
purification. All the ancients saw that in the winter, the earth
fell quiet and covered itself in white. Late winter and early
spring was the time for human purification also, to be followed
closely by fertility magic.
- Something Old, Something New
Rome still celebrated Lupercalia after it had matured and
become a great republic. In fact, all civic life came to a halt
for the festival.
Because of the Remus and Romulus legend, Lupercalia enjoyed
great respect. Sons of noblemen were appointed to be Lupercalian
priests, or luperci, and tasked with a number of duties. Each
year they sacrified a dog (for Lupercal) and a goat (for Faunus)
at the bottom of a cave at Palantine Hill. Wearing nothing but
goat hide, they cut thongs from the skin and ran the perimeter
of “old Rome,” slapping women with the bloody strips. Women
put themselves forward for this, meaning to be purified and made
fertile. (Our month of February, Febrarius, means “month of
purification.”) Afterward, Rome indulged in a love lottery in
which young men drew young women’s names from a jar and became
their “partners” for a time.
Eventually, the Roman upper-crust grew too refined to feel at
ease with Lupercalia. Cicero sniffed that the luperci were:
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A certain wild association of Lupercalian brothers, both
plainly pastoral and savage, whose rustic alliance was formed
before civilization and laws.
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A certain politician made sport of Lupercalia's anachronistic
air by wearing his luperci skin to work and haranging his fellow
senators.
Eventually, Lupercalia began to fall out of favor, although
Augustus revived it for a time in a fit of national patriotism.
- The Church Triumphant
The church is sometimes vilified for its Lupercalian edits.
It found the love lottery unacceptable, as well as the luperci.
But rather than ban the fete outright, it tried assimilation.
First, the love lottery was replaced with a high-minded
version, where each man drew a saint instead of a girl and was
invited to emulate that saint throughout the year. (This custom
is sometimes observed today). Then the purification aspect was
re-clothed in a feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary,
scheduled for early February. As for fertility magic, the church
dodged this altogether, although one can see traces of the
purifying and “greening” impulse in the spirit and chapel
decorations of Lent.
As for the fourteenth of February, the church dedicated the
day to the Christian martyr, Valentine. Contrary to the sugared
rumors that have sprung up around him (or more accurately, them
-- there were several St. Valentines), the saint almost
certainly had nothing to do with love or romance.
- Knights in Shining Armor
Lupercalia had been well and truly squelched in Rome. But to
the west and north, where the Age of Chivalry triumphed,
Europeans could not let the tradition molder and with childlike
zest, revived it. The English cast off the papal practice of
drawing saints, but their new notions of chivalric love led to a
more innocent type of boy/girl lottery than Rome had ever seen.
Young girls drew on the power of dream pillows -- filled or
pinned with aromatics like bay leaves or lavender -- to catch a
glimpse of their future mates. Small children dressed in adult
clothes and roamed the streets, gently mocking the “new”
fascination with love:
"Good morning to you, valentine
Curl your locks as I do mine--
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine."
Unlike the serious Lupercalian business of patriotism and the
appeasement of gods, this kinder, gentler Valentine’s day
spoke of a young person’s coming-of-age. Chivalry’s themes
of chaste love and longing played major roles.
Hail, Bishop Valentine! Whose day this is
All the air is thy diocese,
And all the chirping choristers
And other birds are thy parishioners … wrote Donne.
The world grows old over and over again, and in England,
Valentine’s Day aged with it. The tradition of laying out for
gifts took hold, with the height of luxurious gifting possibly
reaching its height around Restoration England. Lords gave
Ladies rings and brooches of staggering worth, and even Samuel
Pepys (not a famous romantic) recorded having given his wife “a
Turkey-stone set with diamonds.” She was grateful, and as he
noted, “I am glad of it, for it is fit the wretch should have
something to content herself with.”
- Initially Resistant
Pragmatic, puritanical America long withstood Europe’s
festivities, fending off fairies, maypoles, effigy-burning and
even Valentine’s Day. Women were scarce in the harsh days of
the nation’s dawn, and public displays of affection were
outlawed in any case. It wasn’t until the Civil War that the
country relented: long, lonely rifts in families endeared the
saint to them at last. Prior to the war, elaborate commercial
valentines (including “mechanical” types) had begun to flood
the market and grow more affordable.
Of course, this uncharacteristic flood of romance could not
go unchecked, and the widespread embrace of valentines was
closely followed by the “vinegar” valentine, a comic and
sometimes, caustic type.
When the war ended, and Americans crept into the light of
Reconstruction, they found a freshly industrialized nation.
Along with it came a transcontinental railroad, typewriters, an
internal combustion engine, and -- most importantly for
Valentine’s Day -- heart-shaped boxes full of commercial
chocolates (a gimmick invented by the Cadbury brothers during
the 1860s). Although fine diamonds and jewelry never quite
became the norm among Americans, the standard “recipe” of
cards, flowers, and a heart-shaped box of chocolates had been
carved in the national psyche. Now Valentine’s Day is only
second to Christmas in number of cards bought and sent.
Blake Kritzberg is a copywriter, web designer, and proprietor
of http://www.e-free-greeting-card.com.
This article may be freely reprinted so long as this resource
box and URL are preserved. Visit the website for listings and
reviews of funny, spiritual and edgy e-cards.
