Preamble aside, Valentine’s Day was not always a commercial holiday. Instead, the holiday can be traced back to the Roman Empire. From the third century B.C.E. to fifth century C.E., Roman senators practiced the ritual of Lupercalia.
Every February 15, Roman senators met in the chamber called the Lupercal, which was the supposed birthplace of the mythical founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. The senators would sacrifice a goat, run through the streets of Rome and strike women with pieces of meat to encourage fertility.
Concurrent to the polytheistic festivals of Rome is the conversion of Constantine the Great. In 312 A.D., Constantine converted to Christianity, changing the state religion from polytheism to Christianity. This began the rise of Christianity and the Papacy in Rome.
In the final years of Lupercalia, Pope Gelasius I declared February 14 Valentine’s Day. The holiday— preceding Lupercalia by one day on the calendar— was meant as a feast day. It was established to honor Saint Valentine.
The story of Saint Valentine varies depending on different accounts, from his attempts to convert the Emperor Claudius II or Roman citizens, in each case leading to his execution. He became the patron of lovers, couples, marriages, beekeepers and epilepsy. This eclectic patronage is a sign that the earliest Valentine’s Day celebrations were not focused on love, but a veneration of the saint through festival focused on a feast.
It wasn’t until the time of Geoffrey Chaucer that the word “Valentine” was associated with ideas of love. In his poem “Parlement of Foules,” Chaucer first connected the Valentine with ideas of love.
Valentine’s Day would change once again into the commercialized holiday that we have come to know with the advent of the Industrial Revolution. The era of mass-production allowed for Valentine’s Day cards to be produced in mass quantities, rather than hand made.
In the current moment, Valentine’s Day has become an equally commercialized and romanticized holiday. The tension of finding love and purchasing gifts has become the subject of parody, even being reinterpreted as Single Awareness Day, or SAD. Internationally the holiday more broadly encompasses love for one’s friends as well as partners, like El día del Amor y Amistad.
Looking through the history of the holiday, we can see that Valentine’s Day was not always about love. Instead, it is a holiday with traditions deeply rooted in the celebration of relations from lovers to friends to family.
Benjamin Ervin is a senior studying English literature and writing at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Benjamin know by emailing him be425014@ohio.edu.
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