It seems there are several Valentines who were martyrs in the name of the Roman Catholic faith but the reason that the Saints day is celebrated in the middle of February is most likely because early Christians hijacked an already established pagan type of feasting and celebration - I am sure this fact will appear several times in this blog, some maybe critical of the idea but I honestly think it is an early case of marketing genius!
Lupercalia was celebrated around this time of the year and it was the festival dedicated to Faunus the Roman God of Agriculture and the founders of Rome itself - Romulus and Remus.
Priests from the order of the Luperci would start the festival at the cave where the twins were thought to have been brought up by a she-wolf or Lupa. Sacrifices of a goat and a dog would be made for fertility and purification, their hides would then be dipped into the blood.
They would then walk through the streets slapping the crops and the women with them, whilst this does not sound very pleasant it was actually welcomed as it believed this ritual would make those chosen more fertile in the coming year.
Towards the end of the evening, all the women would put their name or tokens in a big urn and the eligible men would choose one. That would pair the couple for at least a year, although it is said most of these pairings ended with marriage so does not seem like such a bad system really!
