Kristy's Blog

Saint Valentine

The origins of Valentine’s Day can be traced back to the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia. This Roman festival was held on February 15th. Lupercalia, honored the gods Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary founders of Rome , Romulus and Remus.

Lupercalia festivities included a bountiful feast and the pairing of young women and men. Men would draw women’s names from a box, and each couple would be paired until next year’s celebration.

While the pairing of couples set the tone for today’s holiday, it wasn’t called “Valentine’s Day” until a priest named Valentine came along. Valentine, a romantic at heart, disobeyed Emperor Claudius II’s decree that soldiers remain bachelors. Claudius handed down a decree believing that soldiers would be distracted and unable to concentrate on fighting if they were married. Valentine defied the emperor and secretly performed marriage ceremonies. As a result of his defiance, Valentine was put to death on February 14th.

After Valentine’s death, the priest was named a saint. As Christianity spread throughout Rome , the celebration of Lupercalia was moved from February 15th to February 14th and renamed St. Valentine’s Day to honor the saint.