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- Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the third century. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.
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Dec 13, 2017 · 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...
Feb 15, 2012 · The lovers' holiday traces its roots to raucous annual Roman festivals where men stripped naked, grabbed goat- or dog-skin whips, and spanked young maidens in hopes of increasing their fertility,...
Feb 14, 2019 · L ong before Valentine’s Day was celebrated, a festival that had nothing to do with love took place around the same time of the year. It was called Lupercalia, and it occurred on February 15...
- Kat Moon
Feb 13, 2011 · Here's how it started Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. But the ancient Romans had bloodier, drunker and more naked notions to mark the...
Sep 9, 2024 · Although there were several Christian martyrs named Valentine, Valentine’s Day may have taken its name from a priest who was martyred about 270 CE by the Roman emperor Claudius II Gothicus. Other accounts hold that it was St. Valentine of Terni , a bishop, for whom the holiday was named, though it is possible that the two saints were actually ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Lupercalia, ancient Roman fertility festival that was conducted annually on February 15 under the superintendence of a corporation of priests called Luperci. The origins of the festival are obscure. Learn about the history and traditions of Lupercalia in this article.
Jan 25, 2024 · Valentine's Day is a fixed day on the calendar that got lumped into a mid-February holiday on the ancient Roman calendar called Lupercalia—which some historians believe is what led to Valentine's Day being all about love.