It is that time of year again where boys and girls and women and men get all lovey-dovey with one another and dedicate the entire day to romance, love, intimacy, and lust.
The traditional Valentine’s Day involves women receiving boxes of chocolate, flowers, cards, and perhaps a candlelit dinner in a romantic setting at a nice restaurant. Many couples also engage in physical intercourse to celebrate the day of love and romance.
The origin of Valentine’s Day is founded upon pagan sex rituals. Most of our holidays here in the Western and Christian world are based upon ancient pagan rituals. However, after Christianity merged with paganism, it sanitized the ancient pagan customs and rituals.
Many devout Christians do not want to believe that at one point Christianity merged with paganism. However, the proof is recorded in history. During the Council of Nice in 325 A.D. Emperor Constantine had to restore order between Christians and pagans. He enacted a grand compromise to restore peace.
Even though Christianity overtook paganism, paganism still influenced Christianity, and that’s why we can always find traces of paganism in almost all Christian customs and rituals.
Pagan influences in the U.S.
More people in America are Christian than pagan, but the days of the week are named in honor of pagan gods and not Christian saints or the apostles of Jesus.
- Monday is named in honor of the Moon
- Tuesday is named in honor of the God Tiwaz
- Wednesday is named in honor of the god Odin
- Thursday is named in honor of the god Thor
- Friday is named in honor of the goddess Freya
- Saturday is named in honor of the god Saturn
- Sunday is named in honor of the Sun
Look at the 12 months of the year. They, too, are named in honor of pagan gods. January is named in honor of Janus, the 2-faced god. February for Februa, goddess of the fever. March for Mars. April for Aprilis. May for Maia. June for Juno. July for Julius Cesar. August for Augustus Cesar, and on and on.
Just as Christian leaders converted all pagan idols and gods into saints and converted all pagan holidays into Christian holidays, Valentine’s Day was no exception.
The pagan forerunner to the Christian Valentine’s day was the Roman festival called ‘Lupercalia’, a festival of sexual license.
The custom of drawing names on Valentine’s Day, something practiced today in elementary school when boys and girls would draw names and exchange Valentine’s Day cards, was derived from Lupercalia’s drawing of billets whereby young men chose partners for erotic games by drawing billets (small papers) with women’s names on them.
Saint Valentine
Saint Valentine was considered a bishop of Rome. He assisted the martyrs during the persecution they suffered under the rule of Claudius Goth II. During this period, Rome was involved in many bloody, brutal, and unpopular campaigns. Because Claudius the Goth II found it difficult to recruit married or engaged soldiers for the Roman army, he issued a decree that no one was to marry or be engaged.
Bishop Valentine ignored the degree of Claudius and continued to secretly perform wedding ceremonies. When it was discovered that Bishop Valentine was defying Claudius’ decree, Valentine was arrested and dispatched by Claudius to the Prefect of Rome who attempted to compel Bishop Valentine to renounce his faith in Christianity. When the bishop refused to do so, he was ordered to be killed by way of clubbing, stoning, and then beheading.
While imprisoned, Bishop Valentine corresponded with those under his care by sending letters and love notes to his parishioners. During his incarceration, the bishop fell in love with the jailer’s blind daughter, Julia, who visited him during his confinement. It is alleged that Valentine helped Julia restore her eyesight.
On February 14, c. 269 or 270 A.D., Bishop Valentine was removed from his jail cell and killed. Bishop Valentine had written his love a farewell message, one last love note that contained a closing that has now transcended time: “From Your Valentine.”
It is reported that the bishop’s heart was cut out and sent to Claudius, who then sent the remaining part of the heart, saturated in coagulated blood, in a box with a note to Valentine’s love, Julia.
Julia opened the box, grabbed the note, and in shock and dismay at what she discovered. Julia then read the note: “From Your Valentine.”
Thank you for reading.
Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
