History Of Valentine’s Day Essay, Research Paper

Valentine?s Day at Its Best

The whole holiday of Valentine?s Day is steeped in the concept of love and what greater love is there than Christ?s love laying down His life for those He loved. Like so many other holidays, the celebration of this holiday is derived from pagan origin, yet can have great significance and inspiration for the Christian.

Valentine?s Day derives its origins from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia. When fierce wolves roamed the woods nearby, the Romans called upon their god, Lupercus to keep the wolves away. On February 15th, a festival was held to honor Lupercus.

On the day before the festival, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. The girls would put their names in a jar and each young man would draw a name. The name on the slip each boy chose was to be his sweetheart for the year.

Legend has it that the festival was named Valentine?s Day after the priest Valentine who was a priest in Rome when Christianity was a new religion. After Valentine defied some of the Emperors decrees, he was eventually arrested, imprisoned, and finally beheaded on February 14th, the eve of the festival of Lupercalia. After his death, Valentine was named a saint. As Rome became more Christian, the priests moved the spring holiday from the 15th of February to the 14th of February ? Valentine?s Day. Now the holiday honored Saint Valentine instead of Lupercus.

Having been given the greatest gift of all, it is natural for Christians to want to give to others, so on Valentine?s Day many people give each other cards or flowers or a variety of other gifts. Monetary gifts are a way of saying ?I love you.? However, acts of kindness that show Christ?s love are a very special way of showing love.