Almost all over the world on February 14, people have been celebrating Valentine's Day for many years. They give hearts to their soul mates, most often in the form of postcards, and delight with various romantic surprises. However, few people know who Saint Valentine is, where all these traditions came from, and why they are so fervently honored in our time. Well, let's try to understand the history of this celebration, plunging into the depths of religion and mythology, as well as focusing on the traditions of various countries and peoples.
Retrospective of the legends of the origin of this saint
Three legends go about who Saint Valentine is. More precisely speaking, three people are known under this name in the Catholic Church . The first is Valentin of Rome, who worked in Rome as a clergyman. He died in the third century AD as a result of the persecution that occurred during the collapse of the Roman Empire. The second character is Valentine, who also worked in Italy as a church bishop. He was executed in 270 and buried in the vicinity of Rome. The third is a person completely unknown to the people of our time. Some, however, believe that he was a warrior and died during the campaign of the Roman army on Carthage. With the onset of the Middle Ages, when all kinds of romance, art, and other manifestations of beauty were most strictly prohibited, people painted Valentine as an associate who propagated the church (Catholic) idea throughout the world.
A beautiful fairy tale that could be true
Nowadays, there is the so-called "Golden Legend", which tells about who Saint Valentine is, where he lived and why he became the patron saint of all lovers. So, once ruling in the Roman Empire, Claudius II considered that young men were reluctant to enter his army. It seemed to him that it was the wives who did not allow them to go to war, so the emperor signed a decree banning weddings for every unmarried representative of the stronger sex. Valentine was a local doctor, a preacher of Christianity. Along with this, he secretly married lovers. Once a man came to him whose daughter Julia was blind, and he prescribed her an ointment. Later, rumors of secret weddings reached Claudius, and Valentine was locked up in prison. Knowing that he would be executed, he sent Julia an envelope, where, together with a healing saffron, he left a message with the text “Your Valentine”. The former doctor was executed on February 14, and the girl, opening the envelope, regained her sight. Officially, this holiday was listed in church canons in 496.
Inconsistencies in a beautiful legend
The story of Valentine's Day celebration, which was outlined in the previous paragraph, cannot be true for several reasons. Firstly, the holy martyr himself lived in Rome in the third century AD, when wedding ceremonies as such did not yet exist. This is primarily due to the fact that at the moment in the Roman Empire Christianity has not yet prevailed, and all citizens, including the ruler, remained pagans. The couple could do this both secretly and publicly, so such rumors were unlikely to reach the emperor. Although it is not worthwhile to state with accuracy that every word in this legend, since a saint with a similar name is fully recognized by the Catholic Church, and most often he is identified with a doctor who prayed for every patient in the world and helped every person who asked him about healing.
The origin of Valentine's Day in pagan theory
Some historians believe that this celebration was invented, like St. Valentine himself, in order to supplant a very cruel pagan holiday from Roman traditions. According to a long tradition, the city of Rome was founded by brothers - Romulus and Remus, whom the she-wolf fed her milk. That is why every year the inhabitants of the empire sacrificed one sheep (food of wolves), as well as a dog (animal that wolves hate). The skin of dead animals was divided into narrow thin belts, after which completely naked young guys quilted them all who fell in the way. It is noteworthy that young girls tried to get under these blows, as it was believed that scars made it possible to successfully marry, bear and have a baby. In turn, the story of the appearance of Valentine's Day here is connected with the fact that these belts were called “febroi”, and the ritual itself was carried out in the middle of this February, which in the Roman-Germanic languages sounds like “febroir” and its other derivatives.
Love rituals associated with this celebration
In the usual form for us, the holiday of all lovers began to be celebrated only in the 19th century in Great Britain. Of course, no one knew who Saint Valentine was, or the history of the origin of all this ritual. For people, this has already become a simple entertainment, which appeared either at the behest of the Pope, or by some decree of the local government. However, every year on February 14, young men pulled notes from the drum in which the names of the girls they knew were indicated. So there were “couples” who were supposed to take care of each other during the year, after which they could break up or get married. Later, this tradition migrated to the United States, where it gained great popularity and new rules, many of which are familiar to us today.
The history of the holiday of St. Valentine in the twentieth century
At the dawn of the new century, new businessmen took up such entertainment. Thanks to them, cards in the form of hearts, specialized gift bouquets, sweets and other trinkets appeared on sale. Also, the owners of restaurants and cafes began to organize certain programs, which could only be attended by couples in love. Gradually, this celebration became an excellent opportunity to earn on the sale of postcards, “Valentines”, flowers, good wine and other presents, which today, as a rule, men give to their beloved ladies. In the 21st century, in honor of such a holiday, they just do not like it. And specialized DJ sets, and films, and concerts, and many other events.
Traditions that depend on the culture of a particular country
Despite the fact that we now know who Saint Valentine is, and that his homeland is Italy, a celebration held in his honor covers the whole world. In England, where the holiday was celebrated for the first time, nowadays the most wonders are ... on birds. If on February 14 the first thing you see is a robin - then you live happily ever after with a sailor. Sparrow is most often found to the poor groom, but goldfinch - a clear messenger of the rich prince. When this holiday became the property of the Americans, their men took the tradition of giving marzipans to their soul mates. Today, they are easily replaced with chocolate and other confectionery products, but their color should remain red or white. The most expensive gifts to their women are made by the French - they present jewelry and jewelry to those they love. But in Japan, citizens are limited only to chocolate. At the same time, this product is a manifestation of pure love, and both a man and a woman can confess their feelings.
Brief conclusion
Such a mysterious and diverse origin of the holiday "Valentine's Day" made it a world celebration. In our country, he also gained popularity, but only with the beginning of the 1990s. It is also customary throughout the world to believe that marriages concluded on February 14th will be not only happy, but also eternal.