Every February 14th, millions of Americans send valentines to people they love. But do you know how this wonderful tradition began? There are a few varying opinions:
Theory #1: The Feast of Lupercalia. Back in the ancient Roman times, fierce hoards of hungry wolves roamed the land where shepherds kept their flocks. The Romans called upon one of their Gods, Lupercus, to watch over them from the wolves. Every February the Romans held a feast to honor this God. One custom of the young people was to write the women's names onto a piece of paper and place in a large urn, and each young man would draw a name. The boys and girls who were matched would be together until next year's celebration.
Theory #2 The reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius determined that married men made poor soldiers, so he banned marriage from his empire. Valentine was a Roman priest at this time, and defied the Emperor's decree and secretly married young couples. He was eventually arrested and imprisoned. During his imprisonment, he fell in love with the jailer's daughter and miraculously healed her blindness. Before he was beheaded on Feb. 14, 269 AD, he signed a farewell message to her, "from your Valentine". After his death, Valentine was named a saint. Though there are many version of this tale, they eventually evolved into Valentine's Day being declared in 496 by Pope Gelasius to honor St. Valentine.
Theory #3 The birds choose their mate. During the Middle Ages, the Europeans believed that half-way through the second month of the year (Feb. 14th), the birds began to choose their mates. This belief led to the idea that boys and girls should do the same and exchange love tokens. In fact, Chaucer's Parliament of Foules reads "For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's Day when every foul cometh ther to choose his mate."
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Lisa LeClaire is the owner of Fundamental Expressions Gift Baskets http://www.fegifts.com
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