Although the mid-February holiday celebrating
love and lovers remains wildly popular, the confusion over its origins led the
Catholic Church, in 1969, to drop St. Valentine's Day from the Roman calendar
of official, worldwide Catholic feasts. Some parishes, however, observe the feast of
St. Valentine.
The roots of
St. Valentine's Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was
celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the
god Lupercus. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman
in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year.
Pope
Gelasius I was, understandably, less than thrilled with this custom. So
he changed the lottery to have both young men and women draw the names of
saints whom they would then emulate for the year (a change that no doubt
disappointed a few young men). Instead of Lupercus, the patron of the feast
became Valentine. For Roman men, the day continued to be an occasion to seek
the affections of women, and it became a tradition to give out handwritten
messages of admiration that included Valentine's name.
There was
also a conventional belief in Europe during the Middle Ages that birds chose
their partners in the middle of February. Thus the day was dedicated to love,
and people observed it by writing love letters and sending small gifts to their
beloved. Legend has it that Charles, duke of Orleans, sent the first real
Valentine card to his wife in 1415, when he was imprisoned in the Tower of
London. (He, however, was not beheaded, and died a half-century later of old
age.)[http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/ValentinesDay/origins.asp]
CUPID
Cupid is the
most famous of Valentine symbols and everybody knows that boy armed with bow
and arrows, and piercing hearts. He is known as a mischievous, winged child
armed with bow and arrows. The arrows signify desires and emotions of love, and
Cupid aims those arrows at Gods and Humans, causing them to fall deeply in
love. Cupid has always played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers. In
ancient Greece he was known as Eros, the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of
love and beauty. To the Roman's he was Cupid, and his mother was Venus.
There is a
very interesting story about Cupid and His mortal Bride Psyche in Roman
mythology. Venus was jealous of the beauty of Psyche, and ordered Cupid to
punish the mortal. But instead, Cupid fell deeply in love with her. He took her
as his wife, but as a mortal she was forbidden to look at him.
[
http://www.theholidayspot.com/valentine/cupid.htm#fCrgOStyq45hUTMe.99]Psyche
was happy until her sisters persuaded her to look at Cupid. as soon as Psyche
looked at Cupid, Cupid punished her by leaving her. Their lovely castle and
gardens vanished too. Psyche found herself alone in an open field with no signs
of other beings or Cupid. As she wandered trying to find her love, she came
upon the temple of Venus. Wishing to destroy her, the goddess of love gave
Psyche a series of tasks, each harder and more dangerous than the last.
For her last
task Psyche was given a little box and told to take it to the underworld. She
was told to get some of the beauty of Proserpine, the wife of Pluto, and put it
in the box. During her trip she was given tips on avoiding the dangers of the
realm of the dead. She was also warned not to open the box. But Temptation
overcame Psyche and she opened the box. But instead of finding beauty, she
found deadly slumber. Cupid found her lifeless on the ground. He gathered the
deadly sleep from her body and put it back in the box. Cupid forgave her, as
did Venus. The gods, moved by Psyche's love for Cupid made her a goddess.
There you
have a few examples of the story we now come to know as Valentine’s Day.
I used to
get cards on Easter, Halloween; these holidays mean a lot more to me once you
get to know me. Get to know your special someone, they will appreciate the
effort you have put into the gift.
Commence the
sugar rush/crash
…Pandora
