Ferguson Features

Another side of Valentine’s Day is thought to be the church’s way to “christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial - which probably occurred around A.D. 270 - others claim that christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February to overshadow the pagan celebration. Lupercalia celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15th, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Roman women welcome the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city’s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Cupid is often portrayed on Valentine’s Day cards as a naked cherub launching arrows of love at unsuspecting lovers. But the Roman god cupid has his roots in Greek mythology as the Greek god of love Eros. Eros was a handsome immortal who played with the emotions of gods and men. By using his golden arrows to incite love and leaden ones to sow aversions. It wasn’t until the Hellenistic period that he began to be portrayed as the mischievous chubby child he’d become on Valentine’s Day cards. In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century.