By Alex Vitti
A festival held in honor of Lupercus was celebrated February 15th. The festival was celebrated as a spring festival. Their calendar was different at that time, with February falling in early springtime.
One of the customs of the young people was name-drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man drew a slip. The girl whose name was chosen was to be his sweetheart for the year?
Legend has it that the holiday became Valentine's Day after a priest named Valentine. Valentine was a priest in Rome at the time Christianity was a new religion. The Emperor at that time, Claudius II, ordered the Roman soldiers NOT to marry or become engaged.
Claudius believed that as married men, his soldiers would want to stay home with their families rather than fight his wars. Valentine defied the Emperor's decree and secretly married the young couples. He was eventually arrested, imprisoned, and put to death.
Valentine was beheaded on February 14th, the eve of the Roman holiday Lupercalia. After his death, Valentine was named a saint. As Rome became more Christian, the priests moved the spring holiday from the 15th of February to the 14th - Valentine's Day. Now the holiday honored Saint Valentine instead of Lupercus.
But, this is just one side of the story...
So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.
One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers.
Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today.
Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Vitti
Thursday, January 31, 2008
How to Choose the Best Valentine E-card
by Molly Rose
Before the 'how' let's analyze the 'why'. Why do I need the best e-card? Why can't I just settle for the first one that pops up on the free e-cards site?
If these are the questions that have arisen then try and answer the following one...Do I fall in love everyday? If the answer is yes, then you can not only choose any random free valentine e-cards, but even if you don't bother it's not going to make that much of a difference!! But if you've answered in the negative, you have the single most important reason to look for the best.
We can now move on to the 'how' in question. The answer is dating websites. These websites are at your service and their main purpose is to make your loved one feel special and...well, loved.
Valentine's Day is celebrated the world over by people in love. The reason this day is so unique is because not everyone has the guts to be gushy-mushy everyday. Most people need an excuse to be silly and Valentine's Day provides just that excuse.
Months before Valentines Day, free romantic e-card websites start overflowing with thousands of cards for you to choose from. They are certainly trying their best to make your life easier, but end up confusing you thoroughly and leave you wondering whether it's worth the effort. To avoid feeling all fed up and unenthusiastic, you should first visit a dating website with high popularity and check out some tips on how to choose the best from a plethora of free romantic e-cards. These websites may even reduce your work by providing links to good quality free e-cards. There's half your work done.
While e-card hunting, ensure the 'free' part is true right at the beginning. You may end up spending a lot of time surfing the site and even finalizing a card only to realize that they expect you to pay for it. Also, make sure the website isn't too outdated.
For couples just fallen in love, a card with a touch of humor would be a bigger hit than a card full of boring old love lines. Though humor is appreciated at all ages, it may be a good idea to send your wife of fifteen years a card subtly telling her how appreciated she is and how much light she's brought into your life. Free valentine e-cards are also available for parents, grand-parents, siblings and other relatives. But the thing to remember is whether the recipient is net-savvy enough or not. You may send an e-card and not wish them personally assuming they've seen it!
Last of all, but by no means least important, send as many cards as you want. Like I said before, special days like these give you a license to do silly, happy things and not give explanations for them. So go ahead and spread joy. It's free!!
About the Author
Molly Rose has a great interest in writing articles, blogs etc on online dating. She also works for http://www.eromance.com as a content writer for dating topics.
Before the 'how' let's analyze the 'why'. Why do I need the best e-card? Why can't I just settle for the first one that pops up on the free e-cards site?
If these are the questions that have arisen then try and answer the following one...Do I fall in love everyday? If the answer is yes, then you can not only choose any random free valentine e-cards, but even if you don't bother it's not going to make that much of a difference!! But if you've answered in the negative, you have the single most important reason to look for the best.
We can now move on to the 'how' in question. The answer is dating websites. These websites are at your service and their main purpose is to make your loved one feel special and...well, loved.
Valentine's Day is celebrated the world over by people in love. The reason this day is so unique is because not everyone has the guts to be gushy-mushy everyday. Most people need an excuse to be silly and Valentine's Day provides just that excuse.
Months before Valentines Day, free romantic e-card websites start overflowing with thousands of cards for you to choose from. They are certainly trying their best to make your life easier, but end up confusing you thoroughly and leave you wondering whether it's worth the effort. To avoid feeling all fed up and unenthusiastic, you should first visit a dating website with high popularity and check out some tips on how to choose the best from a plethora of free romantic e-cards. These websites may even reduce your work by providing links to good quality free e-cards. There's half your work done.
While e-card hunting, ensure the 'free' part is true right at the beginning. You may end up spending a lot of time surfing the site and even finalizing a card only to realize that they expect you to pay for it. Also, make sure the website isn't too outdated.
For couples just fallen in love, a card with a touch of humor would be a bigger hit than a card full of boring old love lines. Though humor is appreciated at all ages, it may be a good idea to send your wife of fifteen years a card subtly telling her how appreciated she is and how much light she's brought into your life. Free valentine e-cards are also available for parents, grand-parents, siblings and other relatives. But the thing to remember is whether the recipient is net-savvy enough or not. You may send an e-card and not wish them personally assuming they've seen it!
Last of all, but by no means least important, send as many cards as you want. Like I said before, special days like these give you a license to do silly, happy things and not give explanations for them. So go ahead and spread joy. It's free!!
About the Author
Molly Rose has a great interest in writing articles, blogs etc on online dating. She also works for http://www.eromance.com as a content writer for dating topics.
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