Lupercalia

From FB:

“Lupercalia was an ancient pagan festival held each year in Rome on February 15. Although Valentine’s Day shares its name with a martyred Christian saint, some historians believe the holiday is actually an offshoot of Lupercalia. Unlike Valentine’s Day, however, Lupercalia was a bloody, violent and sexually-charged celebration awash with animal sacrifice, random matchmaking and coupling in the hopes of warding off evil spirits and infertility.

No one knows the exact origin of Lupercalia, but it has been traced back as far as the 6th century B.C. – before the founding of Rome.

According to Roman legend, the ancient King Amulius ordered Romulus and Remus—his twin nephews and founders of Rome—to be thrown into the Tiber River to drown in retribution for their mother’s broken vow of celibacy.

A servant took pity on them, however, and placed them inside a basket on the river instead. The river-god carried the basket and the brothers downriver to a wild fig tree where it became caught in the branches. The brothers were then rescued and cared for by a she-wolf in a den at the base of Palatine Hill where Rome was founded.

The twins were later adopted by a shepherd and his wife and learned their father’s trade. After killing the uncle who’d ordered their death, they found the cave den of the she-wolf who’d nurtured them and named it Lupercal.

It’s thought Lupercalia took place to honor the she-wolf and please the Roman fertility god Lupercus.

In Ancient Rome, feasting began after a ritual sacrifice of goats and dogs. When the feast of Lupercal was over, the Luperci cut strips, also called thongs or februa, of goat hide from the newly-sacrificed goats.

They then ran naked or nearly-naked around Palantine whipping any woman within striking distance with the thongs. Many women welcomed the lashes and even bared their skin to receive the fertility rite, which they believed would help them become pregnant.

During Lupercalia, the men randomly chose a woman’s name from a jar to be coupled with them for the duration of the festival. Often, the couple stayed together until the following year’s festival. Many fell in love and married.

There are several legends surrounding the life of Saint Valentine. The most common is that on one February 14 during the 3rd century A.D., a man named Valentine was executed by the Roman Emperor Claudius II after being imprisoned for assisting persecuted Christians and secretly marrying Christian couples in love.

As the story goes, during Valentine’s imprisonment he tried converting Claudius to Christianity. Claudius became enraged and ordered Valentine to reject his faith or be killed. He refused to forsake his faith, so Valentine was beheaded.

Legend also tells of another story that happened during Valentine’s imprisonment after he tutored a girl named Julia, the blind daughter of his jailer. The legend states God restored Julia’s sight after she and Valentine prayed together. On the eve of his execution, Valentine supposedly penned a note to Julia and signed it, “From your Valentine.”

Thanks to Saint Valentine’s reputation as a “patron of lovers,” he became synonymous with romance. In the late 5th century A.D., Pope Gelasius I eliminated the pagan celebration of Lupercalia and declared February 14 a day to celebrate the martyrdom of Saint Valentine instead, although it’s highly unlikely he intended the day to commemorate love and passion. In fact, some modern biblical scholars warn Christians not to celebrate Valentine’s Day at all since it’s thought to be based on pagan rituals.

It’s true Valentine’s Day uses some of Lupercalia’s symbols, intentionally or not, such as the color red which represented a blood sacrifice during Lupercalia and the color white which signified the milk used to wipe the blood clean and represents new life and procreation.”

Jim McMahon

From FB:

“The one problem he had was with authority. He had a problem with his father, he had a problem with his Brigham Young coach, and he had a problem with me. Authority figures. He was defiant just because he didn’t want to be known as a conformist, or a guy who would listen. He sure as hell didn’t care about being the All-American boy…”

– Mike Ditka

February

From FB:

“The name of February comes from the Roman goddess Februa, mother of Mars, and patroness of the passion of love. Her rites are celebrated on February 14, which is still observed as St. Valentine’s Day. In Roman times, young men would draw billets naming their female partners.

The Anglo-Saxon name for this month was Solmonath (“sun month”) noting the gradual return of light after the darkness of midwinter. In the American backwoods tradition, the full moon in February is called the Snow Moon.

Symbolically, it is a time of renewal, cleansing, and rebirth, as represented by the virgin goddess Bridhe (or Bride, or Bridget). In Asatru, she is Birgit, spring-loving consort of Ullr, god of Winter, who transforms from her winter aspect of the aged hag, veiled in black, into the radiant virgin bride – springing from apparent death to life like the changing seasons.”

Februa

From FB:

“‘February comes in like a sturdy country maiden, with a tinge of the red, hard winter apple on her healthy cheek, and as she strives against the wind, wraps her russet-coloured cloak well about her, while with bent head, she keeps throwing back the long hair that blows about her face, and though at times half-blinded by the sleet and snow, still continues her course courageously.’

It is the second month of the year and takes its name from the Latin ‘februa,’ a feast of expiation and purification held at this time in ancient Rome.

It is the shortest month of the year – perhaps mercifully so, in view of its weather and the lack of any distinctive or redeeming features. It does, however, give some tantalizing glimpses of the approach of Spring, with the gradual lengthening of the hours of daylight and the first signs of new growth on plants and trees.”