VRG Home About VRG Vegetarian Journal Books ... Links
For Immediate Release January 1, 1999
Contacts: Tamara Richter (410) 366-VEGE
Dar Veverka (410) 366-8343 RECIPES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY No one is quite sure how St. ValentineÂs Day originated. Europeans believe it is the day that birds choose their mates. The ancient Romans celebrated a feast in honor of the god Lupercus, who protected their shepherds and flocks from the wolves roaming the countryside. Part of that celebration included writing the names of the girls in the village on slips of paper. Each boy would then choose a name, and the couple would be partners for the festival, or possibly the entire year. Another theory is that around AD 270, a priest named Valentine was marrying Roman soldiers against the orders of Emperor Claudius II. Claudius wanted his soldiers to remain single so they would have no reason (wives, girlfriends, or families) to avoid going into battle. Defying the emperor eventually led to ValentineÂs death. He was beheaded on the eve of Lupercalia, and later named a saint. For the more romantic among us, another story claims that a different man named Valentine was jailed for attempting to convert Pagans to Christianity. While in prison, he fell in love with, and miraculously healed, the jailerÂs blind daughter. He signed his letters to her "From your Valentine." As Christianity became more widespread, the holiday eventually became a celebration of St. Valentine rather than Lupercus. Written Valentines appeared around the 15th century, and by the 18th century, the now-familiar hearts and lace were common Valentine cards. ValentineÂs Day caught on a bit later in America, somewhere around the mid-1800s. In Roman mythology, Cupid is the son of Venus, goddess of love and beauty, and thus is a natural for being associated with all things romantic, particularly Valentine cards. | |
|
