As I sit in a class today, looking over at girls with their roses and fancy chocolates… smiles plastered on their faces, I can’t help but wonder why. Why has America have this fascination with Valentine’s day? Why do we spend thousands of thousands of dollars on chocolates and candy and roses and cards? Why do we choose this date to go to the movies, dinner, and other seemingly stereotypical romantic gestures? Why do we have this specific date as the day to tell the people you love that you love them? Should you do that all the time? It could be argued that this could be a contributing factor to why relationships fail. Do we gain false hopes from the gestures that are displayed on Valentine’s day and when the rest of the year doesn’t measure up, we are disappointed and angered that our loved one does not love us as much as we think they should. But that is a topic for a different blog.
So in this thought process I began to wonder where Valentine’s Day came from. The obvious answer is the story of St. Valentine. A martyr who was beheaded by the Romans when he continued to marry young couples in a “Christian” manner. Though it is nearly impossible to know which Valentine the story is about, since it was such a popular name. However, even before Christianity took over the date of February 14th just like they seemed to do for every one of their holidays, a pagan holiday existed.
Lupercalia was a roman festival holiday that took place on the evening of February 14 and into the next day. It was an idolatrous and sensuous festival for the “hunter of wolves,” Lupercus. It was a festival that often ended in teens deciding to follow more serious relationships with each other. Which I guess the later trends for “romance” and “love” originated.
No comments:
Post a Comment