Valentine’s Day is linked to the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which celebrated fertility and the coming of spring, from February 13 to 15, in quite bloody and barbaric ways. During Lupercalia, after the sacrifice of a goat and dog, whose hides men used to whip women with, a lottery determined the pairing of men and women for the duration of the festival, a coupling that sometimes lasted for life.
As time went on - though the historicity of the details is sketchy - it is said that the day took on the name of Christian priest, Saint Valentine (AD 176-273). He was a figure who is said to have performed marriages for those to whom they were otherwise denied, such as soldiers and Christians. The day is also said to be linked in name to two men that were executed by Pope Gelasius I in the 3rd century, both on February 14. When the church began to gain power, they attempted to Christianise pagan traditions and festivals and it is thought that the name of Saint Valentine seemed a fitting choice to attach to the pagan fertility festival.
Following romanticisation by Chaucer and Shakespeare, it was in England in the 1800s that the commercialisation and transformation of the event into something more familiar to modern cultures occurred. Cards and phrases of love began to be produced on an industrial scale, which gradually began to be accompanied by gifts, such as sweets and flowers. Nowadays, research shows that jewellery tops the wish lists of women for Valentine’s Day, accounting for 71 per cent of the vote. According to the same research, the biggest wish of men, at 65 per cent, is for technological products.
Italy still hosts festivals to celebrate the day. The city of Verona, the setting for the tragic love story between Romeo and Juliet, puts on a celebration which lasts for four days, including decorations of heart-shaped lanterns throughout the city, romantically themed concerts and a contest for the best letter written to Juliet. Camogli also puts on a festival which includes “Piatto di San Valentino; Innamorati a Camogli”, a plate-painting competition.
While February 14 marks a day to celebrate those in love, its observance in many countries all over the world is not completely based on the giving of gifts but also is an opportunity for those in love to show off their strength and abilities. In Brazil, for example, the winner of a 6 kilometre race between young men holding a tree trunk earns the right to dance with his beloved, while in China, the girls take the opportunity to show off their domestic skills on the day.
In Italy, Australia and many other parts of the world, whether gifts are given or not, the tradition of love, wrapped up in Valentine’s Day, lives on.
