Valentine's day

Valentine's Day is a very popular celebration, many consider it a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. You buy roses, chocolate, jewelry, gifts etc. for your partner… But do you truly know the origin? The origins of this celebration are actually dark, bloody and demonic.

Is Valentine's Day a pagan holiday? Yes, Valentine's Day has origins in the pagan holiday Lupercalia, which was a festival in Ancient Rome celebrating fertility and purification. Men would strip naked and sacrifice animals as part of the ritual.

Though no one has the exact origin of the holiday, one place to start is ancient Rome.

From Feb. 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia.

What is Lupercalia? Lupercalia was an ancient Roman festival celebrated from February 13 to 15.

Lupercalia honored the gods Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus.

During this festival, the Romans performed rituals that involved sacrificing a goat and a dog, and then using the hides of these animals to whip women. The festival also included a matchmaking lottery where young men drew the names of women to be coupled up with. It was a significant and somewhat violent celebration in ancient Rome.

Also during Lupercalia, young women would indeed line up for the men to lightly hit them with strips of goat hide. It was believed that this act would promote fertility and ensure their well-being.

On February 14, about St. Valentine, the priest who defied Emperor Claudius II's orders by secretly performing marriages for young couples. The Emperor wanted men to focus on fighting wars rather than getting married, so he banned marriage. St. Valentine's actions of marrying couples in secret led to his execution.

The ancient Romans and Emperor Claudius II played a role in the origins of Valentine's Day. The martyrdom of the two men named Valentine on February 14 in the third century led to the celebration of St. Valentine's Day by the Catholic Church.

Later, Pope Gelasius I mixed things up in the fifth century by blending St. Valentine's Day with Lupercalia to get rid of the pagan customs.

Around the same time(February), the Normans celebrated Galatin's Day. Galatin meant "lover of women." That was likely confused with St. Valentine's Day at some point, in part because they sound alike.

To know more: https://www.americanstationery.com/blog/the-origins-of-valentines-day/

Christians, sometimes you need to look up certain origins before celebrating it like everyone else. You don't need Valentine's Day to show affection, and buy things for your partner. Why follow the secular trend?