Happy Gamelion / Lupercalia / Valentine's Day
This psuedo-holiday has me a bit baffled. Most women expect something today as a token of love. This is the perceived meaning of Valentine's Day. Men on the other hand think of today as well, they day they forgot, and they need to run to CVS or Target and get something fast.
But what do we really know about Saint Valentine and Valentine's Day? Valentine's Day (February 14) was created as a Roman Catholic feast for Valentine. The day was observed by the Roman Catholic church until 1969. Valentine was a martyr for the Romans.
Just to make sure everyone is on the same page, we made a martyr's holiday into a holiday for love and gifts. Um...OK.
As many of you are aware, Roman Catholics took holidays and converted them for their own. This is but another example.
On the ancient Athens calendar, the period between mid-January and mid-February was the month of Gamelion, dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera.
In Ancient Rome, February 15 was Lupercalia. Lupercalia, of which many write that it was anciently celebrated by shepherds, and has also some connection with the Arcadian Lycaea. Many noble youths of the magistrates run up and down through the city naked, for sport and laughter striking those they meet with shaggy thongs. And many women of rank also purposely get in their way, and like children at school present their hands to be struck, believing that the pregnant will thus be helped in delivery, and the barren to pregnancy.
The word Lupercalia comes from lupus, or wolf, so the holiday may be connected with the legendary wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus. Priests of this cult, luperci would travel to the lupercal, the cave where the she-wolf who reared Romulus and Remus allegedly lived, and sacrifice animals (two goats and a dog). The blood would then be scattered in the streets, to bring fertility and keep the wolves away from the fields. [4] Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome. The more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning "Juno the purifier "or "the chaste Juno," was celebrated on February 13-14. Pope Gelasius I (492-496) abolished Lupercalia.
Some historians argue that Candlemas (then held on February 14, later moved to February 2) was promoted as its replacement, but this feast was already being celebrated in Jerusalem by AD 381. The pope also declared in 496 that the feast of St. Valentine would be on February 14.
And how did Cupid get into the mix? Throughout ancient mythological writing, there appear to be either two Cupids or two sides to the figure of Cupid. One is the son of Jupiter (Zeus) and Venus. He is a lively youth who delights in pranks and spreading love. The other is a son of Nyx and Erebus, known for riotous debauchery. Son of Zeus! Marriage of Zeus. Coincidence?
This brings me to my point (as I almost always have one). Happy Lupercalia's day my Queen! As much as I wish to run down the street naked, I will pass as the snow plows in Northern Virginia really have no idea how to clear a road.
Did you know...
A Hallmark holiday is a predominantly American disparaging term used to describe a holiday that exists primarily for commercial purposes, rather than to commemorate a truly significant religious or secular event. The name comes from Hallmark cards, a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri, that presumably benefits from such manufactured events.
Examples of holidays that are called "Hallmark holidays" include Secretary's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Sweetest Day, and Valentine's Day (though it does have a longer historic legacy than most).
But what do we really know about Saint Valentine and Valentine's Day? Valentine's Day (February 14) was created as a Roman Catholic feast for Valentine. The day was observed by the Roman Catholic church until 1969. Valentine was a martyr for the Romans.
Just to make sure everyone is on the same page, we made a martyr's holiday into a holiday for love and gifts. Um...OK.
As many of you are aware, Roman Catholics took holidays and converted them for their own. This is but another example.
On the ancient Athens calendar, the period between mid-January and mid-February was the month of Gamelion, dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera.
In Ancient Rome, February 15 was Lupercalia. Lupercalia, of which many write that it was anciently celebrated by shepherds, and has also some connection with the Arcadian Lycaea. Many noble youths of the magistrates run up and down through the city naked, for sport and laughter striking those they meet with shaggy thongs. And many women of rank also purposely get in their way, and like children at school present their hands to be struck, believing that the pregnant will thus be helped in delivery, and the barren to pregnancy.
The word Lupercalia comes from lupus, or wolf, so the holiday may be connected with the legendary wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus. Priests of this cult, luperci would travel to the lupercal, the cave where the she-wolf who reared Romulus and Remus allegedly lived, and sacrifice animals (two goats and a dog). The blood would then be scattered in the streets, to bring fertility and keep the wolves away from the fields. [4] Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome. The more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning "Juno the purifier "or "the chaste Juno," was celebrated on February 13-14. Pope Gelasius I (492-496) abolished Lupercalia.
Some historians argue that Candlemas (then held on February 14, later moved to February 2) was promoted as its replacement, but this feast was already being celebrated in Jerusalem by AD 381. The pope also declared in 496 that the feast of St. Valentine would be on February 14.
And how did Cupid get into the mix? Throughout ancient mythological writing, there appear to be either two Cupids or two sides to the figure of Cupid. One is the son of Jupiter (Zeus) and Venus. He is a lively youth who delights in pranks and spreading love. The other is a son of Nyx and Erebus, known for riotous debauchery. Son of Zeus! Marriage of Zeus. Coincidence?
This brings me to my point (as I almost always have one). Happy Lupercalia's day my Queen! As much as I wish to run down the street naked, I will pass as the snow plows in Northern Virginia really have no idea how to clear a road.
Did you know...
A Hallmark holiday is a predominantly American disparaging term used to describe a holiday that exists primarily for commercial purposes, rather than to commemorate a truly significant religious or secular event. The name comes from Hallmark cards, a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri, that presumably benefits from such manufactured events.
Examples of holidays that are called "Hallmark holidays" include Secretary's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Sweetest Day, and Valentine's Day (though it does have a longer historic legacy than most).
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