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Valentine's Pagan Roots Explained

The document discusses the origins of Valentine's Day and how it may have incorporated traditions from the ancient Roman pagan fertility festival of Lupercalia. Lupercalia took place in mid-February and involved fertility rituals and matchmaking activities. Some believe Christianity later adopted this date to celebrate St. Valentine in order to replace the pagan celebrations. The Bible warns against adopting the rituals and traditions of pagan gods. Readers must decide for themselves whether to celebrate Valentine's Day based on these origins and biblical teachings.

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49 views2 pages

Valentine's Pagan Roots Explained

The document discusses the origins of Valentine's Day and how it may have incorporated traditions from the ancient Roman pagan fertility festival of Lupercalia. Lupercalia took place in mid-February and involved fertility rituals and matchmaking activities. Some believe Christianity later adopted this date to celebrate St. Valentine in order to replace the pagan celebrations. The Bible warns against adopting the rituals and traditions of pagan gods. Readers must decide for themselves whether to celebrate Valentine's Day based on these origins and biblical teachings.

Uploaded by

anjani kumar
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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See what the bible says about Valentine.

opera.com Feb 13, 2020 9:09 PM

Origins of Valentine’s Day: A Pagan Festival in February


While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the
middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of
Valentine’s death or burial–which probably occurred around
A.D. 270–others claim that the Christian church may have
decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of
February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration
of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February
15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the
Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders
Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of


Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the
infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were
believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The
priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for
purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips,
dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets,
gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat
hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the
touch of the hides because it was believed to make them
more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to
legend, all the young women in the city would place their
names in a big urn. The city’s bachelors would each choose a
name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman.

Also The World Book Encyclopedia tells us regarding


Valentine’s Day: “The customs connected with the day . . .
probably come from an ancient Roman festival
called Lupercalia which took place every February 15. The
festival honored Juno, the Roman goddess of women and
marriage, and Pan, the god of nature”(1973, vol. 20, p. 204).

The bible also says "When the Lord your God cuts off from
before you the nations which you go to dispossess … do not
inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve
their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the
Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord
which He hates they have done to their gods … Whatever I
command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it
nor take away from it” (Deuteronomy 12:29-32).

From these You should decide if you want to celebrate this


festival or Not. Remember you're in charge of your decisions.

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