Dragonfly Healing Center
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • The Dragonfly Story
    • About Melissa
    • Board of Directors
    • Practitioners and Consultants
    • Our Vision
  • Services
    • Diversity and Inclusion
    • Happiness Plan
    • Life Balance Project Plan
    • MBSR
    • Retreat Leader Training
  • Events
  • Photos & Testimonials
    • Success Stories
  • Partners & Offerings
  • Support Us
  • Volunteer
  • Contact

The History of Valentine's Day

2/5/2012

0 Comments

 
Cupid (aka Eros in Greek Mythology)

Cupid has always played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers. He is known as a mischievous, winged child, whose arrows who would pierce the hearts of his victims causing them to fall deeply in love. In ancient Greece he was known as Eros the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. To the Roman's he was Cupid, and his mother Venus.

According to Roman mythology, Cupid was the son of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. Cupid was known to cause people to fall in love by shooting them with his magical arrows. But Cupid didn't just cause others to fall in love - he himself fell deeply in love.

As legend has it, Cupid fell in love with a mortal maiden named Psyche. Cupid married Psyche, but Venus, jealous of Psyche's beauty, forbade her daughter-in-law to look at Cupid. Psyche, of course, couldn't resist temptation and sneaked a peek at her handsome husband. As punishment, Venus demanded that she perform three hard tasks, the last of which caused Psyche's death.

Cupid brought Psyche back to life and the gods, moved by their love, granted Pysche immortality. Cupid thus represents the heart and Psyche the (struggles of the) human soul. 

http://www.care2.com/gates/holidays/valentines/valentines.html

The beloved legend of Cupid & Psyche tells of how the female Psyche fell in love with her invisible lover Cupid. It is an age-old tale of love tested and regained. The tale, it's full name The Marriage of Cupid & Psyche, ends in rejoice, when the union of the two lovers gives birth to a beautiful daughter, known as Voluptas.

She is recognized as one of three graces from Ancient Greece - Voluptas being the word meaning pleasure.

http://www.voluptas.info/

History of Valentine’s Day

The origins of Valentine's Day trace back to the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia. Held on February 15, Lupercalia honored the gods Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

In addition to a bountiful feast, Lupercalia festivities are purported to have included the pairing of young women and men. Men would draw women's names from a box, and each couple would be paired until next year's celebration.

While this pairing of couples set the tone for today's holiday, it wasn't called "Valentine's Day" until a priest named Valentine came along. Valentine, a romantic at heart, disobeyed Emperor Claudius II's decree that soldiers remain bachelors. Claudius handed down this decree believing that soldiers would be distracted and unable to concentrate on fighting if they were married or engaged. Valentine defied the emperor and secretly performed marriage ceremonies. As a result of his defiance, Valentine was put to death on February 14.

After Valentine's death, he was named a saint. As Christianity spread through Rome, the priests moved Lupercalia from February 15 to February 14 and renamed it St. Valentine's Day to honor Saint Valentine.

St. Valentine's Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favorite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

http://www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm

Valentine Traditions

Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was:

Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine ---
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine.


In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favorite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.

In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him.

Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.

A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an S-shape. In this way, a couple could sit together -- but not too closely!

Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.

Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have.

If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.

http://www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Melissa Green, MS, MA is
    the Founder of Dragonfly Healing Center and is an integrative health counselor and meditation teacher aka Happiness Consultant.  Dragonfly Healing Center holds space for people of all walks of life to heal holistically. Currently the center holds workshops and retreats to help people reconnect with their inner light and find their meaning, purpose, and true happiness in life. 

    Archives

    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    February 2013
    January 2013
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All
    Affirmations
    Beliefs
    Body
    Body Image
    Compassion
    Dating
    Diet
    Eating
    Emotional
    Emotions
    Empowerment
    Fear
    Forgiveness
    Friends
    Gratitude
    Happiness
    Health
    Holistic Hiking
    Intention
    Love
    Lovingkindness
    Meditation
    Mental
    Mindfulness
    Nature
    Positivity
    Prayer
    Purpose
    Relationships
    Respect
    Retreat
    Self-love
    Sex
    Soul
    Spiritual
    Stress
    Thoughts
    Valentine's Day
    Wellness
    Yoga

    RSS Feed

Picture
Dragonfly Healing Center is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Public Charity Organization, Tax ID 84-3197387
P.O. Box 812 Kihei, HI 96753​
Copyright © 2019 Dragonfly Healing Center
All  rights reserved