Valentine’s Day

In Ancient Rome, February 15 was Lupercalia. The word Lupercalia comes from lupus, or wolf, so the holiday may be connected with the legendary wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus. Therefore, Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome. The more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning “Juno the Purifier” or “Juno the Chaste,” was celebrated on February 13-14. Pope Gelasius I (492 – 496 AD) abolished the pagan holiday. Some historians argue that Candlemas (then held on February 14 and later moved to February 2) was promoted as its replacement, but this feast was already being celebrated in Jerusalem by 381 AD. The pope also declared in 496 that the feast of St. Valentine would be on February 14. The most common symbol that represents Valentine’s Day is Cupid (Latin cupido: desire). In Roman mythology, he was the son of Venus, Goddess of Love. His counterpart in Greek mythology was Eros, God of Love. He is best known as the handsome young god who falls in love with the beautiful maiden Psyche. In other tales he may appear as a mischievous boy who indiscriminately wounds both gods and humans with his arrows, thereby causing them to fall deeply in love. Cupid is commonly represented in art as a naked, winged infant, often blindfolded, carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows.