Everyone loves good love stories. But the history of Valentine's Day is somewhat different from the romanticized version of the holiday adopted now. Although February 14 is widely marked with sweet treats, gifts and romantic dinners, few are familiar with the true origin of this holiday. What was the celebration that Valentine's Day is in general and why we celebrate it in 2025? > Valentine's Day 2025: What is the real history of the holiday?
Historians cannot accurately determine the origin of the holiday, but they can trace how Valentine's Day traditions have evolved over time. WOMANEL gathered facts and myths, related to this story and the final picture can surprise you.
Valentine's Day 2025: What is the real history of the holiday?
Valentine's Day did not always consist of cherubs and hearts. As you probably know, this day is named after Valentine, but our story began long before its appearance. According to The New York Times and History.com, the origin of the holiday can be associated with the ancient pagan festival of Luperkalia, which existed before Christianity. Similar to the modern Valentine's Day, the Roman holiday was celebrated in mid -February, it included a feast and search for partners. ; yu and sacrifice. For example, according to tradition, the skin of the sacrifice was cut into strips and dipped into the blood. Then the priests walked and beat the women with these strips. This practice allegedly greeted because it was thought to make women more fruitful next year.
The theory shows that as the Romans departed from their pagan beliefs and accepted Christianity, the holiday turned into a holiday in honor of Valentine. Luperkali was outlawed at the end of the 5th century, just when Pope Gelasius proclaimed on February 14 Valentine's Day. %D1%83%D0%B2-%D1%81%D0%B2%D1%8F%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B9%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5 %D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD “CLASS =” RB-HEADING-NINDEX-1 WP-BLOCK-HEADING “Valentine's personality is also the subject of controversy. According to NPR, the Roman Emperor Claudius II executed two different men on named after the ’ I Valentin on February 14 (in different years) in the third century. One of the stories of Valentine is that he was a priest arrested for violation of the Roman decree who forbade soldiers to marry. He was executed for keeping secretly giving the lovers secretly.
Another story argues that the whole thing is in the Ud ’ a priest who fell in love with one of his visitors and began writing her letters. According to hisisory.com, before execution, the priest allegedly sent a letter to the woman who signed: “From your Valentine.” Both stories have a romantic implication and cannot be officially confirmed. We can only say that Valentine's Day was named after the valentine's martyr.
Why are we celebrating Valentine's Day today, in 2025? In the background more commercial aspects of the holiday, source: freepik.com
The transformation of Valentine's Day into a feast of romantic love can be attributed to the English romantic poet Jeffrey Choger. Jack B. Obruts, the late professor of English university, attributes to Chosser modern ideas about Valentine's Day. In his study, Obrot argues that there were no significant written testimony that the romantic tradition is pronounced with Valentine's Day. It was until the Chauser wrote his works of the fourteenth century “Bird Parliament” and “Complaint of Mars”. The first of them is a poem about birds that choose a couple on Valentine's Day. William Shakespeare is also attributed to the promotion of romantic associations of this holiday. In the nineteenth century, the industrial revolution helped to make printed postcards for Valentine's Day the main tradition, NPR reports.
The explosion of romance continued in the nineteenth century by the creation of Richard Kedbury of the first box of chocolate chocolates in the form of a heart – the quintessence of Valentine's Day. To make it still sweeter, the New England confectionery company (NECCO) has started producing the earliest version of Conversation Hearts, which are still popular today. Finally, in 1913, Hallmark Cards launched a mass production of valentines. The rest, as they say, is already history!
Who is Cupid?
When we think of Valentine's Day, pink hearts, red roses and a plump cherubimchik in the diaper that lets down the arrows immediately fall immediately. But who is Cupid and how did he become a mascot on February 14? In fact, its roots reach mythology!
In Greek mythology, Cupid is the Greek God of Love on Im ’ I Eros. Its origin, as well as the origin of many other gods, is told differently. In some early stories, Eros is the son of Chaos or Nix. Later versions of mythology claim that he is the son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, from Hermes, Ares or Zeus. According to hisisory.com, Eros was a beautiful winged immortal who played with the emotions of gods and humans using gold arrows to ignite love and lead arrows to cause disgust. It sounds familiar? He was known to them as a child Venus and Mars, the goddess of love and the god of war. By the Hellenistic period in the Roman art of Cupid, more and more often depicted as a playful and feudal angel, naked, usually winged, and a representative of pure love. This is more like Cupid, which we know!
Mark Valentine's Day with your children? Here are a few cool ideas that will be interesting to you and them.
