Tonight's useless bit of #trivia

#ValentinesDay 😊

Valentine's day has long been associated with love, & marked as day of commemoration & celebration for no less than 1500 years, ever since Pope Gelasius (died 496 AD) declared Feb. 14 as St. Valentine's day..

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In the church tradition, there are at least two distinct St. Valentine after whom the day might have been named, & indeed history is a bit murky in that regard. What is certain is that they both lived in 3rd century Rome, & both were ordered killed by Emperor Claudius II..

2/11
One legend proclaims that when Emperor Claudius II forbade single men from marrying so they can serve in his army, St. Valentine secretly arranged many marriages to save the men from the scourge of war.

But much in line with the veritable continuum that is human history..

3/11
the origins of Valentine's day celebration predate its namesake: Pre-Christian Romans celebrated the festival of Lupercalia mid February of every year, though it was certainly more rowdy & raunchy then the festivity that would later replace it..

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Lupercalia was celebrated in honor of Lupercus, an Italic god associated with farmers, harvests, & fertility, & who acoording to Roman mythology helped the she-wolf that raised the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus & Remus. The festival included animal sacrifice..

5/11
at the legendary Lupercal cave, where Remus & Romulus were raised, as well as numerous rites to ward off infertility. It also included random match-making through the drawing of lots that brought couples together for the year.
The Lupercalia was outlawed..

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at the end of the 5th Century & replaced by St. Valentine's day.

The earliest mention of the festival as a day of romance is found in Geoffrey Chaucer's poem "Parliament of Foules" (1375), wherein he writes:

7/11
"For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day
Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate."

The oldest surviving Valentine's message dates back to 1415, & is written by Charles, Duke of Orleans, while imprisoned in the Tower of London, & which he addresses to his wife..

8/11
The two-line refrain of that poem reads (in translation from French):
"I am already sick of love
My very gentle Valentine."

The first full blown commercialization of the festivity begins in the US in 1840s, & much as the Roman Lupercalia was appropriated, the occasion

9/11
is then fully appropriated in honor of the god of consumerism, fondly known to all as the Dollar 😊
The occasion (which seems to have dropped the St. from its reference) is a huge world-wide annual industry, & in 2020 in the US alone, estimate Valentine's day spending

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was in the region of 25 billion dollars..!

Be that as it may, wishing you all a blessĂ©d Lupercalia & a very happy #ValentinesDay 😊

[Pic: Valentine's Day Hallmark card, early 1920s]
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