The Stories And Beliefs Behind Valentine’s Day!

By Author: Robin Mackenzie
Total Articles: 31
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Pink and red... Roses and chocolates… candle-lit dinners and champagnes... these are some of the symbolic representations of love and romance. And to top it all, February is celebrated as the month of love and romance and February 14th is celebrated as Valentine’s Day. To trace back to the history on how this particular day came to be celebrated as the day for love, we need to go back to the medieval period. One legend says that Valentine was the name of the priest during the third century in Rome which went against King Claudius’s decision to outlaw marriage for young men so that they will become better soldiers without any family ties. The priest used conduct secret marriages for young lovers, which came to the King’s notice who then ordered the priest to be hanged in public. Another famous story is that Valentine may have been killed in the process of helping Roman prisoners escape from the harsh confinement of the prison in which they were beaten and tortured. The most romantic story of all goes about saying that Valentine himself fell in love with a young girl who was probably the jailor’s daughter and before ...
... dying he sent a love note which was signed as “your Valentine”, a famous quote which is used even now. There have been many rumors and mixed history on Valentine’s Day, so it still remains a mystery of sorts.

There are some interesting facts and beliefs that are associated with love: Cupid, son of Venus, the famous God of love and beauty is the symbol commonly associated with Valentine’s Day. He often appears with an arrow about to strike a heart. This is because it was believed that he had magical arrows that will arouse the feelings of love. Everyone would have heard the term, “wear your heart on your sleeve”. It is not just a expression, it does have a history too! In earlier times, young men and women were given lots to pick to see who their valentine is going to be. Once the name is picked, they used wear their names on their sleeves. This was done so that other will know the true feelings of that particular person. This was what used to be called as “wear your heart on your sleeve”! When people marry, we often say that they are going to “tie the knot”. This is because a knot is a symbol for un-dying love as knot has no beginning or an end! In those days, knots used to be made with satin ribbons or drawn to prove undying love.

There are a lot of beliefs on why Valentine’s Day falls on the middle of February. Some believe that it is the day when Valentine died or was buried which occurred around 270 A.D. There are other rumors that states that the Church had decided to place St. Valentine ’s Day of feast is the middle of February in an effort to Christianize Lupercalia a fertility festival for Pagans which was celebrated to honor Faunus, the Roman God of agriculture and for the founders of Roman, Romulus and Remus. The day started with priests going to the sacred cave where the founders of Rome were believed to be and protected by a she-wolf Lupa. They used to sacrifice a goat for fertility and a dog for purity. The goat’s hide were then cut into strips which were dipped into the sacred blood. These were carried into the village gently slapping the women and crop fields with the goat’s hide. The roman women believed that this ceremony increased their fertility. Then the women will place their names in a pot and the bachelor who chooses their name will be paired with her for a year. Mostly, this ends in marriage.

Nowadays, celebration has become more modern with holidays, candle-lit dinners, romantic gifts or even watching romance movies that are usually available as valentine’s special in our dish tv network as Dish TV Offers.