Valentines Day History posted 2/12/2007 11:37:29 AM | 2 kudos what's this?     report abuse

truleo_1

According to the Web site wilstar.com, 800 years before Valentine's Day was recognized, the Romans practiced a pagan celebration in mid Febuary that commemorated the rite of passed of young men to the God Lupercus. This included a lottery where these young men would draw the names of teenage girls from a box and whoever they drew would be the girl assigned to them as a sexual companion for the rest of the year.

Pope Gelasius ordered a slight change to do away with this festival and started putting names of saints in the box. Both men and women could draw from the box and they were suppose to emulate the ways of the saint they drew during the rest of the year - not a change the young men were fond of.

Although the lottery for woman was banned by the church, the holiday was still used by Roman men to seek the affection of women.

The church looked for a patron saint of love to take the place of the paga God Lupercus and chose Valentine who in AD 270 had been beheaded by Emperor Claudius.

Claudius decided married men didn't make good soldiers so he banned marriage from his empire. Valentine secretly married men that came to him. Claudius tries to convert Valentine to paganism and when unsuccessul had him stoned and beheaded.

But during those days he (Valentine) was imprisoned he fell in love with the blind daughter of a jailor (and the story goes his great faith restored her sight). Before he was taken to his death he wrote a farewell message to her and signed it "From your Valentine" COOL, HUH?

The first valentine card was sent by Charles, duke of Orleasn in 1415 to his wife when he was imprisoned in the tower of London.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY ALL

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