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Article By: RickLondon
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Why St. Valentine, The Patron St. Of Love, Was Executed
Ancient Rome is riddled with unique traditions. None can be more strange than the beginnings of St. Valentine's Day. Though it was not named a holiday at the time, once a year, for a teenage male to reach his rights of passage (to the God Lupercus) he had to choose a name from a box. In the box were the names of all the teenage girls in the village. She was his for a year. Not until 800 years later did the church terminate this ceremony. It turned out it was a celebration of a man named Christian Priest named Valentine.
Ancient Rome is riddled with strange ceremonies and traditions, especially toward the end of its reign as a mighty empire. In fact, the way young men and women learned love was from a lottery. Once a year, in a ceremony, a teenage boy picked a girl's name out of a box (all the teenage girls in the village names were in the box). She was his for a year. She was at his command. And sometimes it was not a pretty thing to witness. It would be another 800 years before the church put an end to this practice.
As it turns out, the event was a celebration of a priest who had lived near Rome in late second century named Valentine. At the time Claudius 11 ruled the empire and decided to outlaw marriage. The Roman Empire was coming to an end and he needed the strongest male soldiers he could find. He felt that marriage ruined a soldier and that it made him too attached emotionally to his family and could not focus on fighting.
Secret hidden weddings had been performed by St. Valentine after he noticed the pain and suffering experienced by young lovers wanting to unite. He was soon caught and executed but not before Claudius tried to convert him, to save him from being terminated, to believe in the Roman gods, which Valentine would not change his Christian beliefs.
Valentine's execution date was February 24th, 270.
While Valentine was a prisoner waiting to hear the verdict, he came in contact with his jailer, Asterius. The jailer had a blind daughter. Asterius requested him to heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius' daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailer, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that will probably live for many generations to come.
Valentine was later named a Patron Saint, and spiritual overseer of an annual festival. The festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The greeting cards acquired St. Valentine's namesake and still has it.
Valentine's day grew in popularity along with Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world, celebrated by almost all faiths. One of the earliest Valentine's cards was sent in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. It is now showcased at the British Museum.
Valentine's Day history was a surprise to me. I just discovered it today at age 53 and found it fascinating. So as an online retailer, what I decided to do was add a "Sex, Love, & Relationship" section to my main gift shop, and mark everything down up to 80% just through Valentine's day, just to make the Patron Saint proud. It can include a gift card and the customer does not have to sign it "From Your Valentine" but can if he/she wishes.
Article Source: ArticleZones.com
About the Author
Cartoonist and history buff Rick London has marked down to 80% all his sex, love, and relationship gifts just for Valentines Day. He owns Funny Gift Shops My Funny Valentine Gifts, and
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