Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your sweetheart. Before you open your card or taste the chocolates, you may want to smell the roses, as the history of Valentine’s Day may surprise you.
Many of you may recall that St. Valentine was executed on Feb. 14, and, as unfortunate as that was, the holiday’s deeper roots are equally creepy.
Valentine’s Day dates back to ancient Rome and the festival of Lupercalia, which was created to celebrate and encourage fertility. That sounds encouraging enough, but the practices were much different than how most of us celebrate Valentine’s Day now — unless animal sacrifices are part of your festivities
Yes, Lupercalia began with the killing of animals, a strange ritual that was an integral part of Roman culture. No bunnies or kittens, but it was a slaughter all the same. According to the Color Meanings website, goats were typically killed, and their blood was smeared on the foreheads of priests (called Luperci) who were at the celebration. Afterwards, the blood was wiped from their foreheads with wool soaked in milk. The skin of the sacrificed animals was then touched to women in order to increase their fertility. And who said the Romans weren’t romantic?
And now you also know why red — the color of blood — is the color of Valentine’s Day. The same website shares how red is also the color of heightened emotions and how, in nature, it is a color of warning. In addition, red is linked to a range of different emotions including anger, passion, love, aggression, passion and intensity.
St. Valentine is believed to have been beheaded. As a result, some say the blood-red color of Valentine’s Day is connected to the holiday’s namesake. On a more positive note, red was one of the most luxurious, rare and expensive colors for textiles in the early days. The gift of red fabric was also a special one, as it was hard to come by.
I am going with the Greek mythology explanation for the connection of red to love, as noted in the Color Meanings website. The goddess of love, Aphrodite, loved a mortal named Adonis. When Adonis was dying, Aphrodite rushed toward him and stepped on the thorn of a white rose. Her blood stained the white rose completely red, and, according to the myth, this was the first red rose on Earth. That sounds a lot better that smearing dead goat blood on people.
Now you can open that card and the box of chocolates.
Have a happy Valentine’s Day, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707