Ahhh yes, Valentine's Day. Now, I am not really one of those haters that has always been single on this glorious hallmark holiday; however, since one of ex's enlightened me to the "true" foundation of this holiday it has, and will forever be one of my personal favorites.
The fact is, that like many "Christian" holidays, it was (possibly) adapted from an ancient pagan ritual. This time, it was taken from a festival celebrated by the Romans during their highest point of power in history. During this time (what was Feb 13th-15th) a matchmaking ritual was performed (something along the lines of drawing names out of a hat) and people would be naked for the duration and mate. In addition, women would line up to be beat by men in hopes that it would make them more fertile.
Now, the question is where exactly does the name "Valentine" come from, well that is a mystery solved here too. According to record many saints were sacrificed on this day by the Roman Empire, and at least two of these saints were named "Valentine". The Catholic church adopted this holiday, put clothes back on it and gave recognition to a St. Valentine in hopes of extinguishing the old ways (much like what happened with Christmas). The holiday was unpopular until Shakespeare made it popular in his plays which then came to the New World and is the wonderful holiday that we all know and love today
.
It is with this, that I wish everyone on SG a happy Valentine's Day, I hope I could have taught you guys something, as knowledge is always the best gift you can ever get!
The fact is, that like many "Christian" holidays, it was (possibly) adapted from an ancient pagan ritual. This time, it was taken from a festival celebrated by the Romans during their highest point of power in history. During this time (what was Feb 13th-15th) a matchmaking ritual was performed (something along the lines of drawing names out of a hat) and people would be naked for the duration and mate. In addition, women would line up to be beat by men in hopes that it would make them more fertile.
Now, the question is where exactly does the name "Valentine" come from, well that is a mystery solved here too. According to record many saints were sacrificed on this day by the Roman Empire, and at least two of these saints were named "Valentine". The Catholic church adopted this holiday, put clothes back on it and gave recognition to a St. Valentine in hopes of extinguishing the old ways (much like what happened with Christmas). The holiday was unpopular until Shakespeare made it popular in his plays which then came to the New World and is the wonderful holiday that we all know and love today
.
It is with this, that I wish everyone on SG a happy Valentine's Day, I hope I could have taught you guys something, as knowledge is always the best gift you can ever get!