How Valentine's Day Began With Naked People and Dead Dogs

My favorite thing about holidays are their bizarre origins.  Most of our modern celebrations have roots in old pagan traditions.  Valantine's Day is no different.  Its pagan roots are just more bizarre than most. They are so strange I like to write about them every year.  I know it is slightly off topic, but naked people being flogged with animal hides is worth discussing in any forum. Apparently the ancient roots of Valentine's Day begins with the Romans. The Romans celebrated Lupercalia from Feb. 13 to 15. In Roman mythology Lupercus was the equivalent of the Greek god Pan who was known to be a sexy sort of fellow who promoted fertility. His holiday was a somewhat romantic kind of celebration. During Lupercalia the men would sacrifice a goat and a dog and then whip women with the hides of the dead animals. The women would line up naked in order to be whipped. They did this because they believed this ritual would make them more fertile. Afterwards, there would be lottery in which men and women would be paired up for a night of naked fun.

I know, you are now wishing we still celebrated Valentine's day this way. Enough with the cheesy cards. Where are the dead animals, whippings, and naked people? It was the Catholic Church that ruined the fun. Emperor Claudius II killed two Valentine's in different years of February 14th. Both men were martyred and the day derives its name from these two martyred saints. In the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I got confused and merged the two martyrs into one person and named February 14th after them. He also absorbed the romantic traditions of Lupercalia into the day in order to soften the pagan debauchery and retake the day for Christianity. Christianity has a long history of doing this type of thing. Christmas was taken from Roman Saturnalia traditions and Norse Yule traditions. By absorbing pagan holidays rather than forbidding them, ancient Christians were able to gain new followers rather than lose them.

Chaucer and Shakespeare can be credited with further romanticizing St. Valentine's day and turning it into the romantic, kissy holiday it is today, but I will always think back to better days when women ran naked through the streets being beaten with dead animals.


Jeffery said…
Greeks before the Romans and the Minoans before them!..Great read Jess! Always a Pleasure!
magikalseasons said…
Cool Vintage Valentine! I also love the origins & folklore behind our Holidays. Great post! Happy Valentines Day!
Adsila said…
Interesting history those Romans had...hum! I am hoping for a nice dinner and romance, no spanking naked

Happy Valentines Day!
Anonymous said…
I love ghost stories and keep up the good work, but i must tell you guys what i just found on the web ! This is really freaky : This is not a spam, or something like that. But OMG, is so cool. Keep up the good work !!!
Yes, the background of Holidays is interesting. They evolve apparently. They are for children, but also celebrated by adults. And where there are adults, there is romance.
Courtney Mroch said…
Oh, Jessica, this title by far wins for your funniest one yet. Excellent info to boot, too. As usual. Hope you had a happy Valentine's Day!

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