What do I write in a Valentine’s day card?

Why did the Catholic Church stop celebrating Valentine’s day?

Valentine, a Roman priest who died sometime around the year 270, the official calendar of the Catholic Church no longer recognizes today as the Feast of St. Valentine. St. Valentine’s feast day was a victim of a purge of saints feast days from the Church’s calendar following the Second Vatican Council.

Is Valentine’s day against religion?

It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, through later folk traditions, has become a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world.

Is Valentine’s Day a pagan ritual?

Valentine’s Day is widely believed to have began with the martyrdom of three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus in Rome during the 3rd century. This Roman version is linked to a pagan festival known as Lupercalia, which was celebrated on or around February 15.

What does the Bible say about Valentine’s Day?

As Christians, we are called to love another. Romans 12:10 says, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Christians can use Valentine’s Day to show their love for one another.

What is the biblical meaning of Valentine?

Valentine reminds us of the gift of God to mankind and true love of God in our hearts. That we have to also love the way God loves. God loves unconditionally and sacrificially, as He loves till the very end. His kind of love is without any string attached to it.

Is Lupercalia pagan?

Lupercalia was an ancient pagan festival held each year in Rome on February 15. Although Valentine’s Day shares its name with a martyred Christian saint, some historians believe the holiday is actually an offshoot of Lupercalia.

What does Lupercalia mean in English?

: an ancient Roman festival celebrated February 15 to ensure fertility for the people, fields, and flocks.

Who can celebrate Lupercalia?

What was sacrificed at the Lupercalia?

At the Lupercal cave, a dog and one or more male goats, to represent sexuality were sacrificed by the Luperci, a group of priests. Two of them, at this point naked, would be smeared by the blood from the sacrificial knife. As the Luperci priests laughed, the blood was removed with wool soaked in milk.

How did Lupercalia become Valentine’s day?

Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity but was outlawed—as it was deemed “un-Christian”—at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love.

Why was Lupercalia outlawed?

Pope Gelasius Outlawed Lupercalia

Pope Gelasius eventually banned it in the fifth century A.D. Gelasius believed that festivals, such as Lupercalia took the focus away from Christianity and caused people to fall back on their pagan roots.

Who is the God lupercus?

Lupercus was a protector of the farmers, harvesting and packs of wild animals. Every year on 15 February in honor of him, the Romans held the Lupercalia. He was an ancient Italian god, worshipped by shepherds as the promoter of fertility in sheep and protector of flocks.

Is Valentine a Greek god?

The Valentine Cupid you can easily call to mind is an interpretation of Eros, the Greek god of love. He appeared as a handsome youth in early art and poetry, but by the Hellenistic period—which spanned from 323 B.C.E. to 31 B.C.E. —he’d morphed into the chubby winged child that we know and love today.

What is the myth of Valentine’s day?

Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the third century. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine’s Day.

What happened on Lupercalia?

Each Lupercalia began with the sacrifice by the Luperci of goats and a dog, after which two of the Luperci were led to the altar, their foreheads were touched with a bloody knife, and the blood was wiped off with wool dipped in milk; the ritual required that the two young men laugh.

What are the similarities between Lupercalia and Valentine’s day?

Instead of Valentine’s Day having its roots in Lupercalia, it appears that the two events have little in common besides sharing a calendar date in mid-February. Long gone are the days of goat sacrifices — and those mid-February days are no longer anything special when it comes to fertility.