:salam2:
We all know about it. Many of us celebrate valentine day by wishing his/her beloved in different ways. We also read/seen in Pakistani news/media that in this year on February 14, 2013, many young male females involved in pre-marital relations. Also read/seen some had placed hidden cameras to make illegal video/photos of those couple who were involved in this act. Well, my point is not about discussing about what news/media broadcasted but about the behind history/truth of this day.
Luperalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festive, observed on February 13 through 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, realising health and fertility. In Roman mythology, Lupercus is a god sometimes identified with the Roman god Faunus, who is the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Pan. Lupercus is the god of shepherds. His priests wore goatskins.
Also Lupercalia, as described by Plutarch the Greek Historian, biographer and essayist, that at this time many of the noble youths and the magistrates run up and down through the city naked, for sport and laughter striking those they meet with shaggy thongs. And many women of rank also purposely get in their way, and like children at school present their hands to be struck, believing that the pregnant will thus be helped in delivery, and the barren to pregnancy.
Furthermore, The Lupercalia festival was partly in honor of Lupa, the she-wolf who suckled the infant orphans, Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, explaining the name of the festival, Lupercalia, or “Wolf Festival.” The festival was celebrated near the cave of Lupercal on the Palatine Hill (the central hill where Rome was traditionally founded, to expiate and purify new life in the Spring.
We can find different history/mythology about this day. In short in the middle of February i.e., on 14 February, there is a Ancient Roman’s celebration which is known as “Lupercalia”. The “Lupercalia” was a ceremony where “Luper” means “A Wolf” who is chasing a little girl. The authority get-together and put young people’s names (both male and female names) in a box and then take out the these names. Whoever is become the partner can have sex with his/her partner on this day without any fear of facing any legal action. That is “Lupercalia” which is known as “Valentine Day”.
**Now, around February 14th, in 270 AD of Christian era, A bishop by the name of “Valentine”, he was trying to work with roman soldiers, because the Roman Emperor had imposed upon his soldiers that anybody who join the army couldn’t get married, because if the soldier get married, he will think about his wife, children all the time and he will be a useless solider. But the soldiers wanted to get married, so ST. Valentine worked with them but later on caught by the Roman Emperor, he was imprisoned and beheaded. So a legend formed around ST. Valentines. In one case it said it even helped a blind young girl who trying to get married so she wrote a letter which found in jail subjected “To My Valentine”, and so now we have valentine day which is recognised as a part of the Pagan holiday in remembrance of St Valentine, The believers of monotheistic religions who understand that the relation of man and woman should be done in sacred way of marriage and not in the loose way before marriage.
And we see what is happening in our society due to ignorance of history/truth of this day aka valentine day.
Note: What I wrote shouldn’t be taken as absolute truth but one may do further research for its better understanding.**