Valentine's Day. history of the holiday

Where and how did Valentine's Day appear? Being the most favorite holiday of youth, it has a centuries-old tradition and an interesting history. However, lovers usually do not even wonder where and when the tradition associated with valentines originated.

Valentine's Day, whose history and traditions go back to ancient times, 18 centuries ago, goes back to Rome, more precisely, to the Lupercalia holiday. On this day, everyone left their affairs aside and indulged in merriment and love. But not exactly erotic, but just people tried to find a life partner or a soul mate, which was often crowned with success. Usually after this festival of eroticism in Rome, a huge number of new families appeared.

Valentine's Day, whose history originates from ancient Rome, is associated with many legends and legends. It was during the celebration of the day of all lovers in Rome that the New Year came , marking the arrival of spring. In addition, the holiday was associated with divination, and mystical predictions were believed not only by young people and girls, but also by serious politicians and business people. The spectrum of fortune-telling was quite wide - from trade to amorous affairs. And it is noteworthy that until today , the day of divination is the same day of St. Valentine. The story also tells us that around the same time in the neighboring Rome, Greece was celebrated with Panurgeia, that is, a celebration in honor of the god of fertility, forests and fields of Pan, who was always in love with some kind of nymph. Just before the arrival of spring, the Roman venerable matrons brought many sacrifices to the goddess of motherhood and marriage to Juno, who, incidentally, was often associated with Faun, the Roman prototype of Pan, in legends and myths. And where is Saint Valentine, the story of the holiday? Simply, all the ancient holidays had some roots related to paganism. And now let's move on to the Christian legends about the origin of the day of lovers.

So, around the 3rd century in the city of Ternia, located in the Roman state, lived Saint Valentine. The story associated with his personality is covered, in general, with gloom, but some moments leave no doubt. So, his profession was one of the most noble, Valentin was a Christian priest. Endowed with all the qualities of virtue, the hero of the day of all lovers was known as a kind and honest man. The time in which Valentine lived, is associated with the reign of Claudius II, who drove Christians and honored only his legionaries, soldiers. According to his decree, none of them had the right to create a family and to marry, so as not to cease to think about military glory and valor, and also about the good of the Roman Empire. A young Christian good priest, whose name was Valentine, secretly from all the warriors crowned, not paying attention to the decree of the emperor. And yet, according to the legends, a noble young man reconciled the quarreled lovers, helped win the hearts of the girls and wrote letters for those who did not know the letters. However, for a long time this could not continue, and soon Valentin was arrested and executed.

Valentine's Day, the story of the holiday does not end there. According to other legends, the priest fell in love with the blind kid of his jailer and managed to heal his beloved thanks to his knowledge in medicine. According to another version, the girl herself fell in love with Valentine, but the one who gave the vow of celibacy failed to reciprocate and only on the night or morning before the execution our hero wrote her the first and last love letter. The tragic story of the poor heroic priest was not forgotten, and Soon he was called a saint and dedicated a holiday to him.

And where does the valentine? With that, surely they are so called after Valentine's letter written by her lover. Initially, valentines were written secretly, with their left hand, so that the recipient could not guess who they were from. And necessarily in the form of a heart, a symbol of love. So, Valentine's Day has a sad history. However, thanks to the Roman priest, all lovers in the world have a day of love and happiness.