The Dark Origins Of Valentine's Day

[Ichingcarpenter]

Though no one has pinpointed the exact origin of the holiday, one good place to start is ancient Rome, where men hit on women by, well, hitting them.

Those Wild and Crazy Romans

From Feb. 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.

The Roman romantics "were drunk. They were naked," says Noel Lenski, a historian at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Young women would actually line up for the men to hit them, Lenski says. They believed this would make them fertile.

The brutal fete included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men drew the names of women from a jar. The couple would then be, um, coupled up for the duration of the festival – or longer, if the match was right.

The ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of our modern day of love. Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.

Later, Pope Gelasius I muddled things in the 5th century by combining St. Valentine's Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals. But the festival was more of a theatrical interpretation of what it had once been. Lenski adds, "It was a little more of a drunken revel, but the Christians put clothes back on it. That didn't stop it from being a day of fertility and love.



SNIP................
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/13/133693152/the-dark-origins-of-valentines-day



THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT GAVE ME A HEART

[Raine]

1. Very interesting

Thanks for posting this! :hi:

[AsahinaKimi]

2. Valentine's Day in Japan

How the Japanese Celebrate　Valentine's Day
Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day? Is there a special way of spending this time in your culture? In Japan, it is only the women who give presents (mainly chocolates) to men. Japanese women are usually too shy to express their love. (Though it might not be true nowadays.) Therefore, Valentine's Day was thought to be a great opportunity to let women express their feelings. However, this is a custom that smart chocolate companies spread to boost their sales, and it has been very successful. Now the chocolate companies in Japan sell more than half of their annual sales during the week before Valentine's Day. Men are supposed to return gifts to women on a day called "White Day" (March 14th), a Japanese creation.

http://japanese.about.com/od/japanesecultur1/a/Valentines-Day-In-Japan.htm

[xchrom]

3. Awesome. nt

[bobburgster]

4. Sort of takes a little of the romantic shine of Valentine's Day.....:) n/t

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. Well besides someone anonymously giving me another heart

I like to know where stuff comes including the easter bunny and stars.

I just wanted to thank them here and give everyone this history of the day.

[bobburgster]

7. I understand....

I am curious about the origins of such things too. I was just trying to be humorous.
Thanks for the post.

[customerserviceguy]

6. Most holidays have an unsavory past

Halloween, for instance. But they've morphed into something that has nothing to do with their origins. Like the feast of Mithras, or as we now call it, Christmas.

[bobburgster]

8. I understand...

see my reply to the OP

[Overseas]

9. K&R! Fascinating! //nt