A celebration of purity, health and fertility

Today when we think of the month of February, we think of the end of bleak winter, the arrival of youthful spring and of course, Valentine’s Day. But let’s step back for a moment and rewind to the very beginning. Few people know that the word ‘February’ was originally dedicated to Februus, and it was the month in which Rome was purified by making offerings and sacrifices to the gods of the dead.

The ‘Februalia’ was a month-long period of sacrifice and atonement, involving offerings to the gods, prayers, and sacrifices. The festival was held near the end of the Roman calendar year. Unlike our current calendar system, this calendar began with the 1st of March and originally completely ignored the dreary winter months of January and February. Later, they were added as the last two months of the year.

Owing to the association with fire as a method of purification, at some point, the celebration of Februalia became associated with Vesta, the Goddess of the hearth. Since her power extended over altars and hearths, all prayers and all sacrifices ended with Vesta. Additionally, February 2nd holds significance as the day of Juno Februa, the mother of the War God Mars.

Later, Februalia was fused with a much more raucous and popular celebration of ‘Lupercalia’, also known as ‘dies Februatus’, after the purification instruments called februa, the basis for the month named ‘Februarius’. It was celebrated in honour of Lupercus, the God of fertility and Faunus, the Roman God of agriculture. Also, the she-wolf, Lupa who is believed to have suckled Rome’s mythical founders Romulus and Remus, was honoured during this time.

Another part of the celebration was a matchmaking lottery. Young men were encouraged to draw the name of a young woman out of a jar and ‘couple’ for the duration of the festival or longer, if it all worked out.

Tales of history disclose a story of Claudius II who spent much of his reign at war with the Gaols and Etruscans, for which he needed a continuous supply of young men, willing to give up their lives.

The process wasn't proceeding as smoothly as anticipated, and Claudius attributed this to the reluctance of men to leave their wives. In order to address this challenge, he made a sweeping decree, nullifying all existing marriages and prohibiting any further nuptials for the duration of the war. Needless to say, the people pushed back and continued to tie the knot in secret. One of the officials who continued to help young couples unite in marriage was Bishop Valentine. Unfortunately, he was eventually caught in the act of performing a matrimonial ceremony and was subsequently thrown in the dungeon. It is said that the daughter of one of his jailers was one of the many young people who had been helped by the bishop and was able to visit him in jail. The story goes that she received notes and letters from him, signed simply as ‘your Valentine’, as we still do to this day.

Lupercalia at first survived the initial rise of Christianity but when Pope Gelasius came to power, he did not like the heathen rituals of the pagans, especially not the hyper sensual celebration of Lupercalia. After a prolonged struggle, he managed to outlaw the celebration and officially proclaimed February 14th as the day of St. Valentine, in honour of the late Bishop's benevolence on the date of his demise.

Towards the end of the Dark Ages, this day regained its association with love and fertility. In France and England, February 14th signified the beginning of the bird's mating season, fostering the idea that it should be revered as a day for instilling love in the hearts of all. This tradition has persisted ever since.

Asmita Dutta
Class-8 Sec-A
Achiever House