I was doing some research on the origins of Valentine's Day. Naturally, there are different claimants...lol
- Back in the day, during the Roman Empire, there was a mid-February festival named Lupercalia associated with matchmaking and fertility rituals. Makes sense.
- Then there's Saint Valentine. The story goes that a Christian priest defied the Roman Emperor Claudius II by performing secret marriages. He was imprisoned and executed (martyred) on February 14th.
- Here's one I wasn't aware of. A poet by the name of Geoffrey Chaucer connected Valentine's Day with romance in his poem "Parliament of Foules". The poem is about 700 lines.
Over time the stories have blended together to become what we have today. I remember in elementary school (in the 50's) we gave a card to each of our classmates. We were in the same room with the same students every day, all day. There was always a "special" card we would reserve for our secret crush...lol
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