The Bloody Truth About Valentines Day

By HANNAH JONES

Roses are red, Violets are blue,Valentines Day is creepier, Than you ever knew. Today, Valentine’s day is filled with expensive gifts, chocolate and lavish dinners between lovers, but it was not always so romantic.

Valentine’s Day started out as the holiday “Lupercalia”, which was a fertility festival dedicated to the Roman God of Agriculture, Faunus. Priest would sacrifice goats and dogs, then dip the goat hide in the blood and go into the town. They would then hit woman and crops with the bloody hides in hopes that they would be more fertile in the coming year. After this ceremony, single women would have their names put into an urn and the single men would pick one and claim them as their Valentine. They would be matched for the rest of the year and most ended up getting married.  

Later on, “Lupercalia” was deemed “un-Christian” and turned into Valentines Day. Some sources claim that it was named after a man who married people in secret when Emperor Claudius II banned marriage of young men claiming that they would make better soldiers without the baggage of a family. There are other stories, but this version is by far the most romantic.

The most important symbol of Valentine’s Day, Cupid, really has nothing to do with Valentine’s Day besides the fact that he was the God of desire. Cupid is the son of Mars, the god of War, and Venus, the goddess of love. Cupid’s appearance is very symbolic to love. His boy like appearance is symbolic of the fact that love is irrational, and his wings point to the fact that lovers are flighty and indecisive. Even with all the references to love, Cupid still has little to do with the origins of Valentine’s Day.

So this Valentine’s Day, when you pass a love note to your Valentine, remember the origins of this lovely holiday and choose your celebration of it wisely.