Dark origins of Valentine's Day: Naked men sacrificing animals, hitting women with hides
While Cupid's arrow may sting a little, it pales in comparison to the darker, more brutal traditions of Valentine's Day — where the holiday was once marked by animal sacrifices and grim rituals.
That's right — the day of love actually has a dark history that wasn't all chocolates and roses. In fact, romance had very little to do with the holiday.
More: A tiny Texas post office stamps 10,000+ letters from across the world each Valentine's Day
Dating back to ancient Rome, the holiday originated with the feast of Lupercalia, celebrated from February 13 to 15. According to NPR, Lupercalia was a sacrificial ritual and festival honoring Lupa, the she-wolf who nursed and sheltered Romulus and Remus. The event was also meant to appease Lupercus, the Roman fertility god, according to History.com.
During the original festival, men would sacrifice a goat and a dog, then run around — often naked or nearly naked — striking women with the hides of the freshly killed animals. Women lined up to be hit, believing it would increase their fertility. Afterward, the women's names were placed in a jar, and men would draw a name to determine their partner for the remainder of the festival.
More: Hate your ex? Give a poop-scented candle, name a cockroach after them this Valentine's Day
In an attempt to expel pagan rituals, Pope Gelasius combined the festival with St. Valentine's Day in the fifth century, according to the History Channel. It wasn't necessarily associated with romantic love until the 14th and 15th centuries, likely influenced by medieval poets like Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare, who connected the day to courtly love, according to the Delaware News Journal. During the middle ages, lovers and friends began to exchange Valentine's Day cards, according to NPR.
It was around 1913 that Valentine's Day literally became a Hallmark holiday. The card maker started to mass-produce valentines, and from that point, romance and commercialism went into overdrive.
The holiday is named after Saint Valentine, a martyr from early Christianity. However, there were several saints named Valentine, making it difficult to determine which one is the true namesake. Most legends point to either Saint Valentine of Rome or Saint Valentine of Terni.
One legend tells of Saint Valentine, a Roman priest who secretly performed weddings to defy Emperor Claudius II's ban on marriages for young men. For this, he was arrested and executed. Another story focuses on Saint Valentine of Terni, a bishop who was also executed for opposing the emperor's orders.
Meanwhile, one of the most enduring legends is of an imprisoned Saint Valentine sending a letter to a young girl, signed "From your Valentine," which further contributes to the romantic tradition of the holiday.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: What is the origin of Valentine's Day? From dark day to day of love
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