Undisclosed truth about Valentine's Day

Roses, chocolate and balls in the form of hearts - these are the images that come to our mind when mentioning the Day of all lovers. Plush toys and heart-shaped postcards adorn in February showcases all the shops and souvenir shops. All lovers are looking for pleasant romantic gifts. If you are not the biggest fan of this holiday, your hour has come. The truth is that Valentine's Day (the saint) originally had nothing to do with love. Its origins lie in bingo festivals and a prison cell. Today the traditions of this holiday are actively supported by the producers of postcards, souvenirs, flowers and sweets. The holiday has long been a part of big business, which brings multi-billion profits. So where did it all begin?

The origins of the holiday

Initially, this day was another name - the feast of Lupercalia, and it was celebrated from February 13 to 15. The ancient Romans were pagans, worshiping different gods. And each patron needed to be properly coaxed with the help of rituals and festivals. It was believed that the god of fertility of the Faun protected pastures and people from wolf raids. Lupercalia was famous for being unbridled and promiscuous. The festival began with the fact that men sacrificed to their patron a goat and a dog. It was a real bacchanalia, where a crowd of drunken naked men lashed women with the skins of killed animals. At the festival, everyone could win a "narrowed" one-night lottery for themselves.

Rename

As the Romans departed from pagan traditions, the holiday and its name were also modified. Probably, the transformation that occurred with Lupercalia is the most extraordinary. It is hard to imagine that the unbridled massacres of women will someday bear the name of a holy martyr. Nevertheless, Valentine's Day succeeded. In fact, there were two of them: one Roman priest, and the other - Bishop Interamna (Terni). They wore one name and both were executed by the Emperor Claudius in the third century. This happened on the same day (February 14), but in different years.

The Catholic Church subsequently named them both martyrs and proclaimed the day of their execution as St. Valentine's Day. It happened only in the fifth century, when Gelasius I decided to cancel the crazy festival of Lupercalia. There was a wonderful occasion to transform the holiday into something more noble. However, a binge drinking in honor of the fertility god was so popular that the church representatives found nothing better than to combine these two events. It is not surprising that the pagan festivities did not immediately go to oblivion, they surrendered their positions gradually. To begin with, Christians returned to the celebrations of the day of fertility clothes.

The first valentines were presented in a prison cell

One of the two Valentines, who became a martyr, was a Roman priest secretly marrying legionnaires with their wives. That is why this historical figure is credited with the title of fighter for love. The Emperor Claudius II, who later ordered Valentine to be executed, tried with all his might to avoid the collapse of the empire. In a desperate attempt to keep the state in his hands, he decided to ban marriages for all young soldiers, since he believed that single soldiers fought better than married ones. Father Valentine allegedly did not accept this idea and continued to marry young secretly. Soon the apostate was caught, taken into custody, and then beheaded. According to the legend, during the stay in the prison, Valentina was visited by small children who handed him notes. You can say that this was the first valentine.

Shakespeare made this holiday more romantic

The Western world may be required by the final transformation of the holiday to William Shakespeare. The great English poet mentioned Valentine's Day in the play "Hamlet" (songs of Ophelia). The excerpt, where the unmarried heroine is given to her lover that day, made a real sensation. Henry Chaucer also mentioned this holiday in the poem "Bird Parliament" in a passage devoted to Richard II and his wife Anne Bohemia.

Postcards appeared much later

Greeting cards in the form of hearts appeared several centuries after the introduction of the holiday. The first to use them was the English couple in love in the 18th century. They cut hearts out of paper and lace. Who would have known that a lovely English tradition would enrich the print industry in our day? In the XIX century, plants began mass production of thematic postcards. Valentines in modern interpretation appeared in 1913 in Kansas City. The idea belongs to the company Hallmark.

How will Valentine's Day help keep the relationship?

Many of us are accustomed to identify the holiday of all lovers with the artificially created by the company Hallmark agiotage. In recent years, the world has gone mad, and the holiday got to where Catholicism is not preached. However, according to psychologists, couples need a similar day. And if it was not, it had to be invented. There is nothing reprehensible in that lovers present gifts to each other, make romantic gestures and once again confess their love. Couples who are married for a long time have an excellent chance to refresh old feelings. This is also indicated by scientific research. One of the sociological surveys found that Valentine's Day enhances the perception of relations between partners. You can take advantage of this unique moment.

Immediately warn that this does not work for everyone. For example, there are people with a high level of "avoiding attachment". They portray themselves as people with stone hearts and do not have the habit of confessing their love to the other half. Another "pink" day will be like death for them. But if a partner thinks about his lover during the day, then the valentine, on the contrary, will make him happy.

On this day there is a peak of fertility

Surely you have friends or relatives who were born on February 14, or at least one day before that date. It is believed that the day of all lovers has a peak in fertility. Many women, after learning that they will have to give birth in February, want to time one significant event to another. A study conducted by the staff of the Yale School of Public Health revealed the difference in fertility rates between Valentine's Day and Halloween. The sample was taken for the period from 1996 to 2006.

It turned out that on February 14, the birth rate increases by 3.6 percent, and on Halloween, by contrast, decreases by 5.3 percent. In this regard, not at all surprising statistics on cesarean sections. On Valentine's Day, the number of operations increases by 12.1 percent, but on the eve of All Saints' Day it drops by almost 17 percent. Perhaps, midwives also prejudiced the holiday of love. Researchers believe that women's ideas about this tradition can affect their willingness to give birth. When pregnant women lower their stomach, with the onset of February 14, they signal to their bodies that it's time to greet this little screaming lump.

Why do people spend so much money?

When you hear about the billions of dollars that come from Hallmark, the flower industry or chocolate manufacturers, you can exclaim with indignation: "Why do people let themselves be fooled?" In fact, each of us knows what is the goal of calculating marketers, but many decide to spend money again and again. A sociologist from the University of Rutgers, Helen Fisher, said: "In the depths of the soul, people enjoy these purchases. The desire to buy cards or flowers can not be imposed. If no one wanted to give gifts, the producers would be left without profit. " On the other hand, people have a notorious "herd instinct". When your colleagues prefer to shell out a decent amount for gifts, you will almost certainly join them. But if they ignore this momentous event, you will not lament over the card you did not buy in the morning.