Valentines Day Gifts
history, leggends and oddities about St. Valentine's Day
The fame of St. Valentine finds its origins in Anglo-Saxon countries where the cult
of the Saint of Love established very quickly. In France and England, the legend was spread
that Valentine was used to give some flower as gift to boys and girls who passed
near his flower garden.
So happened that a young couple falled in love and lived a happy married life. Since
then, often happened that couples about to marry and engaged people went by the
Holy Valentine, so much often that he was soon forced to set aside a day for the
general nuptial blessing.
The day was February 14, because it is said that on that day he went to Heaven
to celebrate his wedding. Initially 14 of each month was devoted to this
celebration, but with time, it was restricted to only February 14. The legend
spread throughout the inhabited world, and February 14 became one of the most
popular events of the year. During years the religious rite has been accompanied
by custom of exchanging cards, flowers and gifts.
LUPERCALIA
The ancient Romans were a people of peasants and shepherds: plants and animals
were of key importance to their communities. Much of the Roman gods were in fact
responsible for promoting crop, sowing, shearing, and so on.
Celebrations in honor of gods, then, took place in periods related to the rhythms
of land and agricultural life, to propitiate the natural events.
On 15 February, in Rome was inaugurated the "Lupercalia", the festivities
in honor of "Lupercus" divinity. According to tradition, he watched
the sheep and protected them from wolves assaults.
The cult of Lupercus was very important and its priests, luperci, enjoyed a
great prestige. In fact, they were admitted to the priesthood in honor of the
god only members of the most important families in the city. Lupercalia were
held around the Lupercus sacred cave, located at the foot of the Palatine, the
cave where, according to legend, a she-wolf found the twins and suckled
Romulus and Remus.
Here, the priests sacrificed some goats and a dog to the god and, covered the
sides with a shred of leather, ran around the hill hitting passers-by. Many of
them asked to receive injuries by luperci, and among them especially adult women,
as it was believed that this might be help them to get pregnant.
During the celebrations of Lupercalia, community purified and prepared itself
to welcome spring and its fruits. Not only: it was a ceremony intended to bring
about the fruitfulness of the earth, animals and man for the beginning of spring,
when all nature is awakening.
Lupercalia remained a major event for the Romans, even after the advent of
Christianity. This ancient pagan rite was celebrated till the fifth century AD,
when it took over a new event, the Christian one: Valentine's Day,
the Feast of Lovers.
ST. VALENTINE'S LEGENDS
There are many legends become part of popular culture, about episodes on the life
of Valentine from Interamna:
A legend tells that Valentine, pardoned and "entrusted" to a noble family, would have made the miracle of restoring sight to the blind daughter of his jailer, Asterius: Valentino, tenderly attached to the young woman, greeted her with a farewell message finishing with the words: from your Valentine...
Another one tells how one day the bishop, walking around, saw two young men who were fighting and went to them giving a rose and inviting them to keep it between their hands: the young people went away, reconciling.
According to another popular tale, Valentine, by then bishop of Terni, celebrated the wedding of Serapia, of christian faith and seriously ill, with the Roman centurion Sabino. Marriage was hampered by her parents but, called by the centurion at the bedside of dying young lady, Valentino first christened the young soldier and then celebrated marriage to his beloved, before both falling into a deep sleep
See also: Wikipedia
VALENTINES CARDS
Valentine's Card has survived its author and the centuries: in 1780 were printed the first greeting cards for Valentine's Day and still today those that for Germans are "ticket of friendship" for Americans are simply "Valentines".
If you want to have some ideas about how to create a Valentine card, check out the pages about greeting cards and floral greetings..
