More Than a Hallmark Holiday - Rooted in Catholic and Ancient Roman tradition, the history of Valentine’s Day is fraught with love, death and trial

Image courtesy of fromyouflowers.com

Every year, in the days and weeks leading up to February 14^th, millions of people around the country drive themselves to distraction preparing special occasions for that special someone, all the while aware of the insurmountable expectations each year innate in that dreaded day called Valentine’s. But Valentine’s Day’s just a Hallmark holiday anyway, isn’t it? I have always thought that we take a certain amount of comfort telling ourselves this. Yet while there’s no denying that Hallmark, along with varied greeting card companies, rose growers and candy makers make a bundle, Valentine’s Day was not created by the so-called “General Motors of emotion”, whose online calendar includes such esoteric events as Grandparents’ Day, Sisters’ Day and Clergy Appreciation Day. In fact, the exact origins of Valentine’s Day are a mystery, rooted somewhere in Ancient Roman festivity, the springtime love, the trials of death and the influences of Catholicism.

The Ancient Romans marked February 15^th as Lupercalia, celebrating the gods Lupercus and Faunus, and the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. It was a day of feasting and revelry. It was also a day for love, in the more Dionysian sense of the word — young men would draw the names of young women from a box, and each couple would be paired off in such a manner. The familiar bow-wielding cherub-turned-mascot Cupid is another Roman holdover on the holiday — the son of Venus, goddess of love and beauty, Cupid had the power to make people fall in love by shooting them with his arrows (though his mythology is far more complex and interesting than his modern image might suggest). But while the Romans may have got the party started, it was the Catholic Church who helped to make the holiday what it is today. Catholic scripture recognizes three saints

Cupid delivering Psyche, Cupid’s wife according to Roman mythology, representing the war of the mind and the heart

named either Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. According to one legend, Valentine, a priest who lived in Rome in the third century, defied Emperor Claudius II’s decree to abolish marriage for young men so that they could be inducted into the army. Valentine continued to perform marriages for young couples, and for this crime he was put to death. Another legend contends that Valentine was executed for helping Christians to escape Roman prisons. Another that he sent the first “Valentine’s Card”, while imprisoned, to a young girl who visited him during his confinement — he was also the first to sign such a card with the words “From your Valentine.” In each case, St. Valentine is remembered as a figure of heroism and love and sympathy, and, most importantly, romance. Some believe that the Catholic Church sought to “Christianize” Lupercalia’s pagan origins by coming up with all these stories in the first place.

Throughout it’s proceeding history, Valentine’s Day was periodically banned, re-instated, and widely celebrated throughout Europe, and later the United States. Sending notes and greetings and tokens of appreciation an February 14^th became common practice. Greeting cards grew to prominence in the 1800s, and they haven’t looked back since. According to the Greeting Card Association, over 1 billion Valentine’s cards are sent each year, second only to Christmas (with 2.6 billion) in card-sending volume. Like all the best holidays, Valentine’s Day’s is a tradition rich with cultural significance and modern appeal. We all know that love is the engine for survival in trying times. Death brings with it perhaps our ultimate challenge — emotions, fear, spite and hate are all too common. And yet it is through facing death that we all can grow, through the faith that love can prevail. Happy Valentine’s Day, from SevenPonds. We hope it finds you, and your Valentine, well.

• If you are grieving during Valentine’s Day.