Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14th as a festival of love and romance. While it is named after two Christian martyrs named Valentine, the celebration is actually patterned after a Roman pagan festival called Lupercalia
Lupercalia took place on February 15th to honor Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, and Pan, god of nature. Young men and women chose partners for the festival by drawing names randomly from a box. These partners exchanged gifts as a sign of affection, and often married.
One of the Valentine martyrs was a priest who lived in Rome during the 200's. He was jailed for aiding persecuted Christians, and was beheaded by the Romans about 270 AD on Palantine Hill at the site of an ancient altar to Juno. His remains are buried in the church of St. Praxedes in Rome.
The second St. Valentine suffered a similar fate. He was a bishop of Terni, about 60 miles from Rome. He was persecuted for converting a Roman family to Christianity, and was also beheaded in Roman, about 273 AD.
In 496, Pope Gelasius changed Lupercalia festival to St. Valentine's Day to give Christian meaning to a pagan festival. The holiday become popular in the United States in the 1800's during the Civil War.
HEART
Emotions are feelings such as love, happiness, anger, or fear. A long time ago, people believed that all the emotions were found in the heart. In later years, they thought only the emotion of love was connected with the heart. The heart is still a symbol of love, and because of this, it is also a symbol of Valentine's Day.
The rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Red is a color that stands for strong feelings. This is why the red rose is a flower of love.
Doves were thought to be favorite birds of Venus. They remain with the same mates all their lives. The males and females both care for their babies. Because these birds are symbols of loyalty and love, they are also symbols of Valentine's Day.
Lovebirds are colorful parrots found in Africa. Most have red bills. They are called lovebirds because they sit closely together in pairs.
A love knot is a series of winding and interlacing loops with no beginning and no end. It is a symbol of endless love. People made love knots from ribbon or drew them on paper. Often, a message was written on the love knot. The message had no beginning or end. It could be repeated endlessly.
RED ROSE
DOVES
LOVEBIRDS
LOVE KNOT
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In some countries, men and women exchange rings when they become engaged or marry. Two or three hundred years ago, Valentine's Day was a popular day for giving an engagement ring. An engagement ring usually had a stone or jewel set in it. Diamonds are common in today's engagement rings.
