What does Valentines Day actually commemorate?
One belief is that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial. Another claims that the Church decided to celebrate Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to ‘christianise’ celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. Lupercalia, which began on February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, and to the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day around 498 A.D. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.
