VALENTINE
DAY'S HISTORY
True
Stories of Valentine's Day
There
are many myths & stories reagrding the history of
Valentine's Day. This is one of them.
Valentine,
a nobleman about to become a saint, was ordered to be
executed by the Cruel king of Rome.
While
in jail, Valentine fell in love with the daughter of the
Jailor.
On
the day of his execution (February 14th) he wrote a note
to his beloved and signed it "Forever
Valentine".
After
he was matryed , he became St. Valentine.
But
the Encyclopedia Brittanica negates all such stories
saying "The custom has no
connection with St Valentine" or
any historical figure with that name, and that ' Special
forms ' of greeting cards are exchanged in observance of
St Valentine's day.
It
is probabble that the Valentine was the first of all
greeting cards."
The
festival of love dates at least from the 14 th century,
says Brittanica.
But
for the now generation , stories about how valentine's
day began are immaterial ; for us it is a great occasion
to celebrate & spread love and to be indulged in
cards with sugary messages,chocolates,flowers, gifts and
everyhting heart shaped starting from pizzas to cushions.
After all this is our way of celebrating and spreading
the sweet fragrance of "LOVE."
Another story of
Valentine's day history
St.
Valentine's story begins in the third century.
During the time of the Roman Emperor Claudius II,
a Christian priest named Valentine secretly
wedded people forbidden to marry by Roman law. At
the time, Claudius was attempting to raise a
large army - he thought that single men would
make better fighters as they wouldn't be worrying
about a family back home. Valentine was arrested
and beheaded on February 14th, 269. He has since
become the patron saint of lovers.
But there's another story about a different
person named Valentine who lived at the same
time, and was martyred on the same day. This
Valentine was also a Roman priest who was
arrested by Emperor Claudius II. Valentine
confessed his faith before the emperor, declaring
that the Roman gods Jupiter and Mercury were
"shameless and contemptible
characters." While in prison, he befriended
the blind daughter of his jailer. Valentine cured
her and converted Austerius, his captor to
Christianity. When Emperor Claudius heard of
this, he had Valentine beaten and beheaded.
Until two hundred years after the accounts of
Valentine's death by Emperor Claudius II, the
Roman feast of Lupercalia was celebrated on the
15th of February. Lupercalia was a celebration
for one of the many deities in the Roman
pantheon, Faunus. To the Romans, Faunus was the
god of flocks and fertility, the protector of
crops, fields, and shepherds.
During the feast, single women would place their
names in a large bowl with each single male
drawing one name. The men would be that woman's
partner for the festival. Sometimes the couple
would fall in love, and there would be no reason
to enter the drawing next year.
It is possible that the feast of Lupercalia was
combined with the February 14 feast for Juno, the
Roman goddess of women and marriage, and moved
back to the day of the anniversary of the
martyrdom of St. Valentine.
But what about the tradition of exchanging cards
and gifts on Valentine's Day? Did that start with
the Roman women writing their names down and
giving them to the men? Or did the tradition
originate with the story about the second
Valentine, who was said to be a prolific writer
who exchanged several dozen letters while
imprisoned?
Most likely, it was Geoffrey Chaucer, author of
The Canterbury Tales.
One historian notes that there is no link between
the Roman festivals and Valentine's Day, and says
that before Chaucer's time, there wasn't any link
between the day of St. Valentine and courting -
but after him, the link becomes widespread. This,
and the fact that there were few authors who were
well-read by the commoners as well as royalty,
suggests that Chaucer was responsible for
inventing the modern traditions of Valentine's
Day. It was an old belief that birds began to
mate on this day, as he relates in The Parlement
of Fowles:
309 For this was on seynt Valentynes day, 310
Whan every foul cometh ther to chese his make
[For this was on Saint Valentine's Day, when
every fowl comes there to choose his mate*]
After the time of Chaucer, the tradition of
exchanging love letters, gifts, and cards became
established.
COURTSEY- http://www.lovevortal.com
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More Stories about
Valentine's day history(click to read)
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