Affairs of the heart. They're tricky. Perilous. Delicious. To die for. And Valentine's Day has a history that's as rich and torrid as love itself. The story dates back to the Roman Empire, when Juno, patroness of marriage and women's well being, was revered each February 14. The Feast of Lupercalia, honouring Lupercus, protector of crops and livestock, began on February 15. On the eve of the feast, young women wrote their names on slips of paper and placed them in urns; young men drew names at random, and the pair would then be coupled during the festival. It has been said that the men pinned the names they drew to their sleeves, which has given us the expression “to wear your heart on your sleeve." Often, these couples would fall in love and later marry.
During the third century there was considerable strife and political upheaval in the Roman Empire. Claudius II (also known as Claudius the Cruel) was emperor during this time, and he decreed that there would be no engagements and no marriages because he believed a man's happiness at home had a direct impact on the fierceness of the empire's army. Without a wife, Claudius reasoned, his men would have no reason to stay home, and thus he could increase the size of his troops and their hunger for the fight. Despite his decree, the Italian Bishop Valentine clandestinely married young lovers. When Claudius discovered Valentine's secret nuptials, he had him clubbed to death and beheaded on February 14, A.D. 270.
Stephanie Vollmer
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