Traditionally Valentine's Day is celebrated with hearts and flowers, and phrases of love. It is also a popular day for marriage proposals. This all started with the Mid February Lupercian festival; a time to meet and court a prospective mate.
In AD 496, Pope Gelasius outlawed the Pagan festival, but he was clever enough to replace it with a similar celebration, one deemed more suitable. He needed a 'lovers' saint to replace the pagan deity Lupercus. The martyred Bishop Valentine was chosen as the patron saint of the new festival.
Saint Valentine had been beheaded for helping young Christian lovers to marry against the wishes of the mad emperor Claudius. As one story goes, before execution, Valentine himself had fallen in love with his jailer's daughter. He signed his final note to her "From Your Valentine", a phrase that has lasted through the centuries. (However, it is not quite certain which St. Valentine the day is named after, since there were more than one Saint named Valentine.)
Pope Gelasius did not get everything he wanted. The pagan festival died out, it is true, but he had further hoped people would emulate the lives of saints. Instead they latched onto the more romantic aspect of Saint Valentine's life. While not immediately as popular as the more passionate pagan festival, eventually the concept of celebrating true love became known as Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day is observed by young and old alike. It is traditional for school children to exchange Valentine cards. Except for Mother's Day more flowers and candy are purchased for this holiday than any other.
As can be observed in the stores, starting on January 1st, Valentine's Day has become a whole industry in itself. To celebrate Valentine's Day at home try making a special meal with great Valentine Desserts. Valentine Sweets can include decorated Heart-shaped Cakes, Cupcakes, or Cookies. Breakfast can be pancakes made in a special heart-shaped pancake mold or waffles made in a heart waffle iron. The possibilities are endless. You can use your imagination or go on-line and find lots of recipes. Magazines and newspapers also feature recipes for Valentine's Day as well as the multitude of cookbooks available for purchase at stores or on-line or free to be borrowed from you Public Library.
Enjoy Valentine's Day in your own way and create your own special traditions. The Children in the family will enjoy participating in the preparation and the festivities and memories will be created that will last a lifetime.
Source by Sylvia Rieman
No comments:
Post a Comment