Valentine's Day ...Wine, Sex and...Goat Sacrifice?

Cupids, paper hearts, candy and roses...ahh...but all this love and romance is truly a modern phenomenon. Prior to the introduction of the Valentine's Day greeting card by Hallmark in 1913, the holiday was a bit less romance and quite a bit more, hmm...fertility ritual.

Rose Garden, Schonbrunn Palace - Austria

Let's stroll back in time to those merrymakers of old, the Romans. February 13th to the 15th, heralded the feast of Lupercalia. The men got drunk and naked, then sacrificed a goat and a dog. Young woman lined up to be whipped with the hides of the animals that the men had just slain to ensure their fertility. What fun!

The festivities also included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men drew the names of women from a jar. The couple would then  "coupled up" for the duration of the festival...and today's college kids thought they invented hooking up!

Who was this Saint Valentine? The answer is a bit muddled. Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on February 14th, but in different years during the third century. The Catholic Church memorialized their martyrdom with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day. The most romantic of the myths surrounding Valentine martyrdom  is that he defied Claudius by helping Christians escape from Roman prisons. The legend goes that when  he became a prisoner, Valentine sent the first "valentine" greeting  to a young girl who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today.

We can thank the English poets of the Middle Ages for softening and sweetening the romance of the day, and Valentines greetings gained popularity in Europe in the 1400's. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt.

According to the Greeting Card Association, nearly 2 billion Valentines greeting cards are exchanged today, making it the second biggest card exchange holiday after Christmas! Market research firm IBIS World estimates Valentine's Day sales will near $20 billion this year! We've come a long way since those inebriated Romans first hooked up!

So whether you are celebrating with your mate, significant other, kids and other family members or embracing your singlehood with friends at a Single Awareness Day celebration, have fun "sharing the love" and just be glad you weren't one of those single ladies back in ancient Rome!

Be Well~