Now young people should be very familiar with Valentine's day. Valentine's Day is celebrated every year, but do you know the origin of Valentine's day? Why did the original people take this day as a Valentine's day?
The origin of Valentine's Day: Ancient Rome
In the third century A.D., the Roman Empire was in an all-round crisis. The economy was in decline, the ruling class was corrupt, the society was in turmoil, and the people resisted one after another. In order to maintain their rule, the aristocracy brutally suppressed the people and Christians. At that time there was valentine, a religious man, who was arrested and jailed. In prison, he moved the warden's daughter with a frank heart. They adore each other and are taken care of by the warden's daughter. The ruling class ordered him to be executed. Before his death, he wrote a long note to the daughter of the warden, stating that he was innocent. It shows that he is open-minded and deeply attached to the warden's daughter.
On February 14, 270 A.D., he was sentenced to death. Later, in order to commemorate Valentine's sacrifice for justice and pure love, Christians set the day of death as "St. Warren's Day", and later changed it to "Valentine's Day".
Legend of Valentine's Day
Legend 1: it is said that in Rome in the third century AD, tyrant Claudius took power. At that time, there were frequent wars inside and outside ancient Rome. In order to supplement the soldiers, the tyrant ordered that all men of a certain age must enter the army to serve the country. Since then, the husband left his wife, the young man left his lover, and the whole Rome was shrouded in a long love affair. The tyrant was so annoyed that he banned the Chinese from holding wedding ceremonies and even demanded that those who had already been married should destroy their engagement.
However, tyranny cannot forbid love. Not far from the tyrant's palace, there is a very beautiful temple, in which a highly respected monk Valentine lives. He can't bear to see a couple of friends die like this, so he secretly presided over the wedding for them. For a while, the exciting news spread throughout the country, and more couples secretly came to ask for the help of the monks.
However, things were soon known by the tyrant, so he was furious and put Valentine in prison. On February 14, 270 A.D., Valentine was tortured to death. In order to commemorate this brave man who dared to fight against tyrant, later people defined this day as "Saint Valentine's Day", and later gradually evolved into Valentine's day.
Legend 2: Valentine's day can be traced back to the early Roman Faun religious festival (February 15). At that time, there was a custom: in the event held on the eve of the festival of herding gods (on the evening of February 14), the name of every girl would be written on a small paper stick, and every young man would draw lots from the box, and the girl who was drawn would become his lover. However, later, the ancient Roman emperor persecuted Christians, in addition to the continuous war, and prohibited soldiers from marrying, so that all lovers were forced to separate, however, tyranny could not prohibit love. Valentine, a Christian who defied the emperor's ban and secretly married unmarried men and women, was arrested, jailed and beheaded on February 14.
Many years later, Rome became a Christian country, and many Christians who believed in martyrdom became saints. In order to commemorate the martyr Saint Valentine, February 14 was designated as Valentine's day instead of the shepherd's day. In the west, it gradually evolved into sending cards or gifts to loved ones on February 14.
Legend 3: there is another saying that Saint Valentine, a young Christian missionary in ancient Rome, risked spreading Christianity, was arrested and jailed, moved the old jailer and his blind daughter, and they took good care of them. Before his death, Saint Valentine wrote a letter to the girl, showing his deep love for her. On the day of his execution, the blind girl planted an apricot tree with red flowers in front of his tomb to express her feelings. It was February 14. Since then, Christianity has designated February 14 as Valentine's day.
Legend 4: in ancient Rome, February 14 was originally a festival to show respect for the queen of Roman gods, Jonah, who was also honored as the God of women and marriage. The next 15 February is called the lupsalar Festival, which is used to show respect for other gods under Jonah.
In ancient Rome, the lives of young men and girls were strictly separated. However, on the lupsala Festival, boys can choose to carve the name of a girl they love on the vase, so that they can dance with the girl they choose and celebrate the festival. If the chosen girl is interested in the young man, they can always match, and eventually fall in love and get married in church. Later generations gradually merged the two-day festival on February 14 every year. Valentine's Day is not only the best time to express your feelings, but also the best time to propose to your beloved.