St. Valentine's Day
As Christianity became prevalent, priests attempted to replace old heathen practices. To
Christianize the ancient pagan celebration of the Feast of Lubercus, the church officials
changed the name to St. Valentine's Day. To give the celebration further meaning and
eliminate pagan traditions, priests substituted the drawing of Saints names for the names
of the girls. On St. Valentine's Day the priest placed saint's names into an urn or box.
The young people then drew a name from the container. In the following year, the youth was
supposed to emulate the life of the saint whose name he had drawn.
By the fourteenth century they reverted back to the use of girl's names. In the sixteenth
century they once again tried to have saintly valentines but it was as unsuccessful as the
first attempt.
While it can't be proved historically, there were seven men named Valentine who were
honored with feasts on February 14th. Of these men, two stories link incidents that could
have given our present day meaning to St. Valentine's Day.
One of these men named Valentine was a priest during the reign of Emperor Claudius.
Valentine was revered by the young and old, rich and poor, with people of all walks of
life attending his services. At this time Emperor Claudius was heavily recruiting men to
serve as soldiers for his wars without much success. The men preferred not to leave their
wives, families and sweethearts to fight in foreign lands. Claudius became angry and
declared that no more marriages could be performed and all engagements were cancelled.
Valentine thought this to be unfair and secretly married several couples. When Claudius
found out, he threw Valentine in prison where he died. Friends of the priest retrieved his
body and buried it in a churchyard in Rome.
Another version had St. Valentine jailed for helping Christians. While Valentine was in
prison he cured a jailer's daughter of blindness. Claudius became enraged and had
Valentine clubbed and beheaded on February 14, 269 A.D.
Yet another story claims that Valentine fell in love with the jailer's daughter and wrote
her letters that were signed "From your Valentine."
All of the seven Valentines eventually evolved into one. In 496 Pope Gelasius declared the
day in honor of St. Valentine. Through the centuries the Christian holiday became a time
to exchange love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. Lovers'
quarrels come under his jurisdiction and, naturally, he is the patron saint of engaged
couples and of anyone wishing to marry.
Valentine's Day
Associated with all those in love, being named after the patron saint of lovers 'St.
Valentine'. It was the Christian Church who popularised this day in the reign of Emperor
Claudius. St. Valentine was a young priest who defied an edict from Rome and the Emperor
that prohibited young males in the army from marrying. It was believed that if a soldier
were to marry this would lessen his strength and dedication to the cause changing them
into poor soldiers. St. Valentine defied the edict and continued to conduct wedding
ceremonies and for this defiance he was executed on February 14 in AD 269.
Valentine's Day is also known as the 'Eve of Roman Lupercalia'. This was a time of great
celebration, a celebration of youthful love. Chance seemed to play a large part in this
festival as sweethearts were chosen by a system similar to a lottery. Since Ancient Greek
and Roman times this day has held a central focus in the folkloric calendar. More recent
traditions involve men and women exchanging cards which contained love dedications or even
marriage proposals, each highly decorative, hand-made and personally designed. This
tradition commenced in the Middle Ages. The sender then as now should never sign the card
as it was considered to bring bad luck. Of course it also stifles any idea of guessing who
might be in love with you. The idea of the secret admirer has long charmed both men and
women alike. Love divination games were very popular during the Victorian period for young
lovers. There are many divination rituals and games. One of the most often used involved
the potential lover writing the name of their favourite persons on a piece of paper and
sealing it in clay which was then dropped into a bowl of water. The first clay to rise to
the surface when opened would reveal the name of their future sweetheart or 'Valentine'.
Sending a gift to the person was the next step towards revelation and happiness in love.
Many different flowers are also associated with this day, given as tokens of love. A
European belief in the power of the saffron coloured crocus to attract attention of a
lover is best done if worn in the buttonhole. Armed with this she is more likely to meet
her future intended. In order to dream of a future husband on this night one European
custom often followed was the placing of fresh Bay Leaves under the pillow the night
before. The type of flowers sent or decorating a card adds further meaning to a Valentine
card and has come to be known as 'The Language of Flowers'. Some of the most well known
Valentine flowers to be used to decorate the cards are highlighted below with an idea of
the specific symbolism behind their inclusion, not all of which indicate love blossoming
but also love on the wain.