Pagan roots of Valentine’s Day
By Muhammad Solaiman
Many consider Valentine’s Day a Christian holiday since it is named after a Christian Saint. But is this the case?
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Valentine’s Day is a tradition which originated from two sexually perverted pagan festivals of ancient history; Lupercalia and the feast day of Juno Februata.
Lupercalia was celebrated on February 15 by the ancient Romans in honour of Lupercus, the god of fertility and husbandry. On the other hand, the feast day of the goddess of the “fever” of love was celebrated on February 14.
In the tradition of the feast day of the goddess Juno Februata, young men were paired with women through a simple lottery system in which the names of all participating women were written on small pieces of papers and placed in a bowl. Each male picked the name of a woman, who would be temporarily paired with him to join erotic games and sexually immoral practices.
In 380 A.D. Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire. Pagans who converted to Christianity kept the traditional practices of the fertility celebrations. In AD 494, Pope Gelasius I banned the fertility celebrations and replaced them with the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary on February 15 and the day of St. Valentine on February 14.
Different stories and legends were attributed to St. Valentine. In one legend, Valentine continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret, though Emperor Claudius II then outlawed marriage. When his actions were discovered, he was imprisoned and put to death.
In the 14th century, the customs of romance, dating and all immoral indecent activities of celebrations of love returned once more on the St. Valentine’s day today.
In 1969 the Catholic Church dropped Valentine’s day from its calendar. So, Valentine’s day is not a Christian feast or a memorial of any martyrs any more.
We may conclude that Valentine’s Day has nothing to do with the Christian faith or religion and it rather encourages promiscuity and relationships outside the bond of marriage. However, Valentine’s Day is now propagated as a part of a billion dollar industry of candy, rose flowers, cards and jewels