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Who Invented Valentine's Day?
Trying to understand the origins of Valentine's Day is somewhat like
trying to understand how the birth of Christ came to be celebrated on
December 25th. The most plausible aspect of the valentine's day 'stories' is very similar
to the Christmas (Christs Mass) story. It was a very typical practice of the early
Christian church when 'converting' pagans, to rename their pagan
festivals as religious celebrations or holidays. This seemed to be most
successful when there was some similarity in the religious celebration to
the original pagan rituals associated with the festival. Since most pagan
rituals include feasting, this wasn't too tough!
The ancient festival of Lupercalia was a fertility ritual honoring Juno Februata, a goddess of love. The festival, celebrated on February 15th began with all the young men drawing from the names of the young women. The drawing was used to partner men and women for feasting and sex (according to some reports, for the duration of the year, and others for the duration of the festival).
Around the period of 260 AD or so, the Catholic priest Valentine was imprisoned and eventually put to death on the order of Claudius II. Valentine was secretly marrying young Roman lovers which violated Claudius' decree - Claudius believed that bachelors made better soldiers.
Around the year 496 AD Pope Gelasius I decreed the pagan festival Lupercalia as February 14 the Christian feast of St. Valentine's Day. It is believed that it was Chaucer, an English poet of the late 1300's that later linked Valentine's Day with romance. Then in 1969 the Catholic church revised it's calendar eliminating St. Valentine's Day. The reason: there were actually three martyred St. Valentine's, all with questionable historical origins.
Valentine's day has nearly come full circle from a fertility festival to a lovers celebration. However, since we no longer need to appease the gods to maintain fertility, the 'lovers' part is only one aspect to focus on. It seems only appropriate to include other special people in our celebrations of Valentine's Day.
Think of the Special People in Your Life
We all know how it feels to be single, with everyone around you gushing
about their 'romantic plans' for Valentine's Day. Somehow even couples who
don't normally get along well seem to become infatuated with one another
around Valentine's Day. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone felt loved and
appreciated on one day of the year?
This year, pick up a bouquet of flowers - not roses, but something fresh looking. Supermarkets sell bouquets of flowers that are very affordable. Take it to work with you and give one flower to each of your co-workers, with a verbal or written greeting mentioning how much you appreciate them and pointing out something about them you consider special.
Don't forget your friends. Take the time to think about each of the close friends in your life. Remember the last thing they did for you or a special trait of theirs that you would miss if they were not part of your life. Send them a card or e-card letting them know you're thinking about them and how much the friendship means to you.
Here are a few nice menus to make a special romantic, dinner for two coupled with suggestions for something nice to do for your love.
Menu 1: Pick up two elegant crystal sparkling wine flutes and have the bubbly chilled and ready to pop the cork when he/she shows up for dinner.
Menu 2: Have the candles lighted, warm hands and offer to give you lover a shoulder rub between the starter and soup course.
Menu 3: Present her or him with a gift wrapped box containing an object representing a significant moment in your relationship. It doesn't have to be anything extravagant, perhaps even a printed napkin or something to remind them of a particular event.
For those of us who are not new couples, it is sometimes nice to get a group of our couples friends together so we can all share the occasion together. Here is an exciting dinner-party menu with a party-favor idea.
For the Party Favor you need:
Cut 5 inch squares of the red fabric and lay out flat on a table. Place 2-4 (depending on size) of the chocolates in the middle of each square. Draw up the corners and secure the parcels with a length of ribbon. Tie a bow, inserting one piece of Rosemary into the knot. Rosemary typically represents remembrance and this is a touching way to celebrate your friends relationship as well as tell them that you are thinking of them.
Whether part of a couple or not, you can still have plenty of fun in putting together a party and inviting all your friends. When you make the invitation, ask all the ladies to wear something red - any hue is fine. It doesn't need to be the entire outfit, but ask them to make some significant part of it red to celebrate the occasion. Also request that all guests wear cocktail party attire.
Invite an even number of people and write the ladies names (or half the names) on slips of paper that you fold in half and place in a pretty glass vase. As the guests arrive, have the men draw one slip of paper from the vase. Use this as a take-off on the Lupercalia festival described above.
The drawing of names can be designed to pair off your guests. It's a great ice-breaker if you have guests who aren't familiar with one another, but it's also a way to mix it up a little with couples who tend to stick together at social events. You could play a variety of games with the partners making the teams. Games such as Name that Tune, Truths & A Lie* or Charades would be fairly easy to adapt for pairs as teams. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.
Party Fare Menu:
*Truths & A Lie: Each person makes three statements about themselves (a single sentence, such as 'I was born in India'. Two of the statements must be true and one must be a lie. The partner guesses which statement is the lie.
Not the recipe you want? Enter an ingredient in the box below: