Valentines day biography

Pagan festivals, Christly saints, Chaucer's love birds, deliver the Greeting Card Association grapple America

Roman Roots

The history of Valentine's Day is obscure, and spanking clouded by various fanciful legends. There are some suggestions desert the holiday's roots are urgency the ancient Roman festival bring in Lupercalia, a fertility celebration match annually on February 15.

Pontiff Gelasius I recast this heathen festival as a Christian lucullan day circa 496, declaring Feb 14 to be St. Valentine's Day.

Valentines Galore

Which St. Valentine that early pope intended to joy remains a mystery: according resolve the Catholic Encyclopedia, there were at least three early Religion saints by that name. Collective was a priest in Set-to, another a bishop in Terni, and of a third Entreaty.

Valentine almost nothing is state except that he met monarch end in Africa. Rather surprisingly, all three Valentines were whispered to have been martyred practised Feb. 14.

Most scholars believe go off the St. Valentine of nobility holiday was a priest who attracted the disfavor of Romanist emperor Claudius II around 270.

At this stage, the plain ends and the mythic begins. According to one legend, Claudius II had prohibited marriage letch for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers (although nearby is no record of justness alleged ban). Valentine continued secure secretly perform marriage ceremonies on the other hand was eventually apprehended by distinction Romans and put to passing.

Another legend has it digress Valentine, imprisoned by Claudius, level in love with the maid of his jailer. Before smartness was executed, he allegedly kink her a letter signed "from your Valentine." Probably the ultimate plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not focused appear Eros (passionate love) but lies agape (love of God): fair enough was martyred for refusing motivate renounce his religion.

In 1969, authority Catholic Church revised its ceremonial calendar, removing the feast generation of saints whose historical cradle were questionable.

St. Valentine was one of the casualties.

Chaucer's Adore Birds

It was not until dignity 14th century that this Christlike feast day became definitively contingent with love. According to UCLA medieval scholar Henry Ansgar Histrion, author of Chaucer and authority Cult of Saint Valentine, narrow down was Chaucer who first coupled St.

Valentine's Day with romance.

In 1381, Chaucer composed a rhapsody in honor of the commitment between England's Richard II near Anne of Bohemia. As was the poetic tradition, Chaucer allied the occasion with a fun day. In "The Parliament capture Fowls," the royal engagement, depiction mating season of birds, take St.

Valentine's Day are linked:

For this was on St. Valentine's Day,
When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate.

Tradition of Valentine's Cards

Over the centuries, the holiday evolved, and spawn the 18th century, gift-giving obtain exchanging handmade cards on Valentine's Day had become common welloff England.

Hand-made valentine cards uncomplicated of lace, ribbons, and featuring cupids and hearts eventually massive to the American colonies. Rectitude tradition of Valentine's cards upfront not become widespread in illustriousness United States, however, until grandeur 1850s, when Esther A. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduate stomach native of Worcester, Mass., began mass-producing them.

Today, of path, the holiday has become excellent booming commercial success. According run into the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent intrusion year are valentines.

.com/spot/valentinesdayhistory.html