In ancient Rome, on February 14th there used to be a holiday called Lupercalia to honor Juno who, beside being the Queen of the Gods, was also the Goddess of marriage. In one of the pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, which were then drawn by young men. They would become partners for the rest of the festival, and in some cases, stay together afterwards and even get married.
Priests of the early Christian Church wanted to get rid of[1] pagan Roman festivals. One method was to change the festivals’ original names to saint names. In this case, Lupercalia became St. Valentine. Saint Valentine was a Roman priest during the reign[2] of Emperor Claudius II. Under his rule[2], Rome was involved in many unpopular, bloody campaigns[3]. He believed it was difficult for him to recruit[4] soldiers because Roman men didn’t want to leave their lovers, he prohibited engagements[5] and marriages in Rome. St. Valentine secretly married couples. He was eventually caught and executed. He suffered martyrdom on February 14th, around the year 70 AD (d.C.).
Nowadays, in the United States, it is common to send valentines. Valentines are sentimental messages or gifts sent to loved ones. The most common gifts are flowers or chocolates or lingerie[6]. Valentine’s Day provides a good opportunity for the brave and hopeful to declare their affection[7] to an unsuspecting[8] person.
[1] deshacerse de
[2] reinado
[3] campañas sangrientas
[4] reclutar
[5] noviazgos
[6] lencería
[7] cariño
[8] confiada
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