CheckZaZa.com Presents: The Valentine Legends

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Manhattan, New York, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) February 14, 2012 -- The Valentine Legends
Author: Pat of Check ZaZa (http://www.checkzaza.com)

Did you know that approximately 150 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent every February 14? That makes it the second most popular card giving day after Christmas.

What is the meaning behind this day of love? Well for one we do know that February has been long celebrated as a month of romance. We also know that there is a legend of a man named Valentine during the High Middle Ages who performed secret marriages for young men after a law was made by Emperor Claudius II in third century Rome. The emperor made this law because he decided that single men made better soldiers than men who had a wife and children and so he outlawed marriage. Valentine opposed this injustice and performed secret marriages for young lovers until his actions were discovered and he was put to death.

There is another legend of a man named Valentine who helped tortured and beaten Christians escape harsh Roman prisons. Another legend suggests that a man named Valentine was imprisoned himself and sent a “Valentine” greeting to a young girl that he fell in love with who was most likely the daughter of his jailor. It has been declared that the letter he wrote was signed “From Your Valentine” which is an expression that we use today. While the legends are shrouded in mystery we can see that in all of these accounts this man Valentine is recognized as a hero and romantic figure. Thanks to the heroic endeavors of Valentine it has been recognized that this day is to be celebrated for love and lovers.

While some believe that this day is celebrated for the anniversary of Valentine’s death others believe that this day is an attempt of the Christian Church to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. The myth goes like this and its an interesting one as a matter of fact. The festival begins with the members of Luperci, who were Roman priests, who would gather at a sacred location where the infants Romulus and Remus were born who are supposedly the founders of Rome. These infants were raised by a she-wolf also known as a Lupa. It is said that the priests would sacrifice a goat and dog which represented fertility and purification. The goat hides were cut into strips and dipped into sacrificial blood and were taken to the streets where the priests gently slapped crop fields and women with them. The women accepted this ritual because they believed that it would make them more fertile. According to the legend all of the young women in the city would place their names in an urn. The city’s bachelors would choose a name from the urn and would be paired for a year with the woman they chose.

Whatever the legend may be we recognize that today is a day of love that is celebrated with the people closest to us. So buy your girl some chocolate and flowers which I’m sure she would appreciate very much. Happy Valentines Day!

Sources:

http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day

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