Sherry Chandler » Lupercalia
Lupercalia
Modified from the Wikipedia:
The Lupercalia was a Roman spring festival held on February 15 near the cave of Lupercal – where the wolf supposedly suckled Romulus and Remus – on the Palatine Hill. The festival was so old that I’m not sure even the Romans were able to associate it with a particular god or temple.
The religious ceremonies were directed by the Luperci, the “brothers of the wolf,” dressed only in goatskin. A dog and two male goats were sacrificed. Two youths were anointed with the blood, which was wiped off with wool soaked in milk, after which they were expected to smile. They ran round the Palatine Hill, naked except for the goatskins, lashing every one they met with thongs, februa, cut from the sacrificed goats. Lashes from these whips ensured fertility so women, especially young wives, would line up on their route. February is derived from the Latin februare, “to purify” (one of the effects of fever, which has the same linguistic root).
Modern tradition has it that this is another of the pagan holidays, like Christmas and Easter, that the Christian church co-opted. In this case the holiday was named for a martyred saint, Valentine, and the date moved back one day to February 14. I don’t know whether this is true – Roman dates are slippery because their calendar was so inaccurate. And then we’ve had a few calendar adjustments in the last two millennia. The Romans considered that spring began on February 5, and even in modern Italy, that date on our current calendar is probably a little early.
Addendum: I’ve never seen anything very religious about Valentine’s Day as we celebrate it. For me, it bears earmarks of the Victorians – dressing love in paper lace looks a lot like the kind of thinking that would cover up the legs of tables. Meanwhile, my son says he doesn’t think much of a holiday that makes so many people unhappy.
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2 Comments
1. Georgia replies at 14th February 2005, 9:35 am :
I love your son’s comment re: Valentine’s Day making people unhappy. Within the singles crowd, it even out does New Year’s Eve in the amount of misery it dumps on those “without a date.” At least on New Year’s Eve one can blend into the noise of a party, but Valentine’s Day offers no refuge for the lonely and uncoupled (or so my daughters used to tell me.) BTW - what can you tell us about the history/tradition of Cupid and his arrow?
2. MW replies at 15th February 2005, 9:46 am :
Well no, I don’t see much point to it. I don’t see how there can be much worth to a day that makes so many people so unhappy. Of course I also think that Valentine’s Day, at least the way we celebrate it, is rather pointless and that you can’t base the whole of your happiness on whether or not you’re with someone. But I can see where those people who are miserable are coming from, too.
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