I, honestly, cannot stand Valentine’s Day. And you would probably think that it’s because I’m alone for the so-called “holiday” for the first time in a couple years, but I assure you that that is not the case here.
I’ve always despised the tradition of only showing someone that you love them, or you appreciate them, on only one day of the year. I believe that if you truly feel one of these ways about them, you should show it to them 24/7, not on the one day everyone else decides to take part in annually. You should give them things they like randomly, if you can. I don’t like the entire giving others chocolate, flowers, teddy bears and heart-shaped everythings people exchange on February 14th, and I cannot stand the fact that no one seems to realize just where Valentine’s Day originated.
Ancient Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia, an annual festival done to avert evil spirits and purify the city, between Feb. 13 – 15th by the men sacrificing a goat and a dog, then whipping women with the hides of the animals they had just sacrificed. The women would line up for the “romantics” – who were both drunk and naked – to hit them because they believed it would make them fertile, and young men would draw the name of women from a bowl. The two would then be “coupled up” for the remainder of the festival, if you understand what that means, and sometimes longer.
Emperor Claudius II also executed two men – both named Valentine – on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine’s Day. Later, Pope Gelasius I muddled things in the 5th century by combining St. Valentine’s Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals.
So, you see, Valentine’s Day is not about flying babies that shoot people with arrows to make them fall in love or chocolate, flowers and teddy bears; it’s about the sacrifice of animals, the abuse of women, the glorification of said abuse and the execution of two men on February 14th. It’s amazing to me that people are perfectly willing to blindly celebrate a “holiday” and continue the traditions of it, without ever bothering to simply look up the facts of its origins on the internet to find a reliable source. I understand you want to show affection to those you care about, but maybe try doing that all the time and not just on the anniversary of Lupercalia and the cruel execution of two different men who happened to have the same name.
