Association mid-February with love and fertility has been around since ancient times. According to chronicle the ancient Athenian calendar, the period between mid-January to mid February is the month Gamelion, which is dedicated to the sacred marriage god Zeus and Hera. In ancient Rome, February 15 is the feast of Lupercalia, a celebration of Lupercus, the god of fertility, symbolized half-naked and dressed in goat skins. As part of the ritual of purification, the priests of Lupercus meyembahkan goat sacrifice to the gods and then after drinking wine, they will be running in the streets of Rome as he took the pieces of sheep skin and touching anyone they meet. Especially young women would go voluntarily because they believe that it will be endowed with fertility and can give birth with ease.
Church Feast
* A priest in Rome
* A bishop Interamna (modern Terni)
* A martyr in the Roman province of Africa.
The connection between the three martyrs was the feast of romantic love is not clear. Even Pope Gelasius I in 496, stating that in fact nothing is known about these martyrs, but on February 14 designated as a memorial feast of St. Valentine. Some say that Pope Gelasius I deliberately set it to surpass the feast of Lupercalia which was celebrated on February 15.
Skeletal remains unearthed from the tomb of Saint Hyppolytus she Via Tibertinus near Rome, identified as a corpse St. Valentinus. Then placed in a gold coffin and sent to the church Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. The body has been given to them by Pope Gregory XVI in 1836. Many tourists who make pilgrimages to this church on Valentine's Day, where the coffin was carried gold-wine in a solemn procession and brought to a high altar. On that day a special mass was held and presented to the young people and those who are in a relationship of love.
Feast day was removed from the Church calendar in 1969 as part of a broader effort to erase the saints that its origin can be questioned and only a legend-based course. The feast day is still celebrated in some parishes.
Valentinus
Medieval era Note the first association of the feast of Saint Valentine with romantic love is in the 14th century in England and France, where it is believed that February 14 is the day when birds are looking for a partner for mating. This belief is written on the work of British writer Geoffrey Chaucer's famous mid-century 14. He wrote the story Parlement of Foules (Conversation Birds) that
For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day ("For this was sent on the day of Saint Valentine")
When every foul cometh there to choose his mate ("When all the birds come there to choose their partners")
At times it was common for lovers to exchange notes on this day and call their partners "Valentine" them. A Valentine card from the 14th century is said to be part of the collection pernaskahan British Library in London. Chances are many legends about St. Valentine were created at this time. Some of them told me that:
* In the evening before St. Valentine would fall as a martyr (died a martyr), he wrote a little love he gave a statement to the prison warden is written "From Valentinusmu".
* When the Roman soldiers were forbidden to marry by the Emperor Claudius II, St. Valentine secretly helped marry them.
In most versions of these legends, February 14, associated with miscarriage as a martyr.
Valentine's Day in modern era Valentine's Day was probably imported into North America from Great Britain, countries that colonized the area. In the United States the first Valentine cards are mass produced printed after the year 1847 by Esther A. Howland (1828 - 1904) from Worcester, Massachusetts. Her father owned a bookstore and office supply stores are great and he was inspired to produce the card from a British Valentine card she received. (Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association's annual awards issue, "Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary".)
Valentine's Day tradition in countries with non-Western In Japan, Valentine's Day has emerged thanks to massive marketing, as a day where women give the men that they love chocolate candy. But this is not done voluntarily but rather becomes an obligation, especially for those who work in offices. They give chocolates to all their male colleagues, sometimes at great cost. Chocolate is known as the Giri-choko, from the words giri (obligation) and choco (chocolate). Then thanks to marketing efforts further, a day counter, called "White Day" (White Day) appears. On this day (March 14), men who have got chocolate on Valentine's Day is expected to give something back.
In Taiwan, in addition to the Valentine's Day and White Day, there is one other holiday is similar to the second day that judging from the function. His name is "Feast of Daughter" (Qi Xi). Day was held on day 7, month 7 according to the Chinese chronicle kamariyah calendar.
In Indonesia, the cultural exchange between lovers greeting letter also began to emerge. This culture became popular culture among young people. Various forms of celebrations, ranging from sharing the love with your spouse, parents, people who are less fortunate in the material, and visit the orphanage where they desperately need affection from fellow humans. Shops and media (TV stations, radio and magazines), especially in big cities in Indonesia bloom organize events related to the valentine.
