Who is Saint Valentine? Origin and history of the feast of St. Valentine

Almost all over the world on February 14, people celebrate Valentine's Day for many years. They give their second half hearts, most often in the form of postcards, pleasing with various romantic surprises. However, who is St. Valentine, where all these traditions originated and why they are so venerated in our time, very few people know. Well, let's try to understand the history of this celebration, plunging into the depths of religion and mythology, and also focusing on the traditions of different countries and peoples.

Retrospective of legends about the origin of this saint

About who Saint Valentine is, there are three legends. To be more precise, under the given name, three people are known in the Catholic Church . The first one is Valentin Rimsky, who worked in Rome as a clergyman. He died in the third century of our era as a result of the persecutions that took place during the disintegration of the Roman Empire. The second character is Valentine, who also worked in Italy as a church bishop. He was executed in 270 and buried in the vicinity of Rome. The third one is a person completely unknown to people of our time. Some, however, believe that he was a warrior and died during the campaign of the Roman army on Carthage. With the onset of the Middle Ages, when all sorts of romanticism, art and other manifestations of the beautiful were under strict prohibition, Valentine people painted as an associate who propagated the Catholic (Catholic) idea throughout the world.

A beautiful fairy tale that could be true

Today there is the so-called "Golden Legend", which tells about who St. Valentine is, where he lived and why he became the patron saint of all lovers. So, once ruling in the Roman Empire, Claudius II considered that young men were reluctantly entering his army. It seemed to him that it was the wives who did not let them go to war, so the emperor signed a decree banning weddings for every unmarried member of the stronger sex. Valentine was a local healer, a preacher of Christianity. Along with this, he secretly crowned the lovers. Once a man turned to him, whose daughter Julia was blind, and he appointed her ointment. Later, Claudia heard rumors of secret weddings, and Valentine was locked in prison. Knowing that he was being executed, he sent Julia an envelope, where, along with the healing saffron, left a message with the text "Your Valentine". The former physician was executed on February 14, and the girl opened her envelope and gained sight. Officially, this holiday was included in the church canons in 496.

Inconsistencies in the most beautiful legend

The history of the celebration of Valentine's Day, which was set forth in the previous paragraph, can not be true for several reasons. Firstly, the Holy Martyr himself lived in Rome in the third century of our era, when the wedding ceremonies as such did not yet exist. This is due primarily to the fact that at the moment in the Roman Empire, Christianity has not yet prevailed, and all citizens, including the ruler, remained pagans. The brothers could do this secretly and publicly, so the rumor could hardly reach the emperor. Although it is not true to say that every word in this legend is fiction, it is not worth it, since a saint with such a name is fully recognized by the Catholic Church, and most often he is identified with a doctor who prayed for every sick person in the world and helped every person who asked Its about healing.

The Origin of Valentine's Day by Pagan Theory

Some historians believe that this celebration was invented, like St. Valentine himself, in order to oust from the Roman traditions a very cruel pagan holiday. By a long tradition, the city of Rome was founded by the brothers - Romulus and Remus, who were fed by their milk wolf. That is why every year the inhabitants of the empire sacrificed one sheep (food of wolves), as well as a dog (an animal that wolves hate). The skin of dead animals was divided into narrow thin belts, after which completely naked young guys lashed them all who came across on the way. It is noteworthy that young girls tried to hit under these blows, because it was believed that the scars allow to successfully marry, bear and give birth to a child. In turn, the history of the appearance of Valentine's Day is due to the fact that these belts were called "februa", and the ritual itself was conducted in the middle of this February, which in Romano-Germanic languages sounds like "februaire" and its other derivatives.

Love rituals associated with this triumph

In the familiar form for us, the holiday of all lovers began to be celebrated only in the 19th century in the UK. Of course, no one knew who St. Valentine was, and also the history of the origin of this whole ritual. For people this has already become a mere entertainment, which appeared either at the behest of the Pope or at some local government decree. However, each year on February 14, the young men pulled out of the drum notes, which indicated the names of the girls they knew. So there were "couples" who during the year were supposed to take courtship of each other, after which they could part ways or get married. Later this tradition migrated to the United States, where it gained great popularity and new rules, many of which are familiar to us today.

History of the Valentine's Day in the 20th Century

At the dawn of the new century for this kind of entertainment came newly-minted businessmen. On sale, thanks to them, there were cards in the form of hearts, specialized gift bouquets, sweets and other trifles. Also, the owners of restaurants and cafes began to organize certain programs, which could only be attended by couples in love. Gradually, this celebration became an excellent opportunity to earn on the sale of postcards, "valentines", flowers, good wine and other presents, which today, as a rule, men give their beloved ladies. In the 21st century, in honor of such a holiday, they just do not like it. And DJ specialized sets, and movies, and concerts, and many other activities.

Traditions that depend on the culture of a particular country

Despite the fact that we now know who Saint Valentine is, and that his homeland is Italy, the celebration that takes place in his honor spans the whole world. In England, where the feast was first celebrated, in our day most often wonder ... on birds. If on February 14 you first see the robin - then you and the sailor will live happily ever after. The sparrow is found most often to the poor groom, but the goldfinch is a clear messenger of the rich prince. When this holiday became the property of the Americans, their men took for the tradition of giving their second half marzipans. Today they are easily replaced with chocolate and other confectionery, but their color should remain red or white. The most expensive gifts to their women are made by the French - they present jewels and jewelry to those they love. But in Japan, citizens are limited only to chocolate. At the same time, this product is a manifestation of pure love, and a man and a woman can confess their feelings.

Conclusion

Such a mysterious and diverse origin of the holiday "Valentine's Day" made him a world celebration. In our country, it also gained popularity, but only with the beginning of the 1990s. It is also widely accepted throughout the world that marriages concluded on February 14 will not only be happy, but also eternal.