The origin of
Valentine's Day
The concept of
romantic love is first recorded in 14th century
Europe, particularly in England and France. Here it
was believed that February 14 was the day that
birds paired to mate. This idea is mentioned in the
Parlement of Foules by Geoffrey Chaucer:
For this was sent on Seynt
Valentyne's day
Whan every foul cometh ther to
choose his mate
During this time
lovers often exchanged notes of love on this day,
calling each other their 'Valentines'.
As a medieval
custom, the names of English maidens and bachelors
were placed in a box and drawn in pairs. These
couples were to exchange gifts, the girl became the
man's 'valentine' and they were bound to each other
for the year.
An ancient story
of the origin of Valentine's Day is of the festival
of Lupercalia for Lupercus the Roman god who
watched over shepherds and their flocks. One of the
rituals of this festival involved youths of noble
birth running through the streets dressed only in
goatskins, touching anyone they came into contact
with. Young women would present themselves in the
belief that this act would make them better able to
bear children.
When Christianity
was established, many ancient heathen festivals
were replaced by Christian celebrations. Lupercalia
became Valentine's Day.
ref:
www.intellmktg.com
cards and gifts such as flowers and
chocolates. More recently the gift of jewellery has
become popular. These gifts are more often from a
man to a woman.
Valentine who
lived in Rome during the reign of Claudius II.. The
emperor forbade any marriages because he wanted his
soldiers to be fighting for years away from home
rather than returning to their sweethearts.
Valentine defied orders and married many couples.
For his disobedience he was thrown into a dungeon
where he died on February 14th 270 A.D.
myths where it is believed
the gods influenced and often interfered with human
behaviour. Cupid was to shoot his 'arrows of love'
into someone causing them to fall in love with the
first person they saw.
and five men entered the building
and opened fire with machine
guns, killing the six. 'Bugs'
Moran escaped. The notoriety of
the event is due to the
bloodthirsty nature of the crime
and the fact that no-one ever
knew who was responsible for the
killings. Moran himself blame Al
Capone but he was known to be in
Florida at the time of the
massacre. Capone himself is known
to have said " the only man who
kills like that is Bugs
Moran".
