Old-Fashioned Italian Valentine's Day

Italians began celebrating Saint Valentine's Day before it existed. Of course, at the time they were Romans, and their way of celebrating was slightly different than our own. There was no consensus amongst the citizenry about who they were honouring - some thought it was Inuus; others Faunus; and still others Lupercus. Future generations would side with the latter group, arguing that "Lupercus" sounds a lot like Luperia, which is what the Romans called the feast. Happily, confusion about who was being celebrated did not cause confusion about how to celebrate: these early revelers were in perfect agreement on what was meant by "a good time." On February 15, this meant starting your day by gathering with fellow citizens on Pallatine hill, just outside of Rome. There, a priest would get things started by slaughtering a few goats and dogs. Next he'd take some blood and smear it on the foreheads of a select group of young noblemen. (Plebeians were not granted the pleasure of participating in the ritual.) With their faces bloodied, and dressed only in loincloths, the young men would run around the designated party area, lashing the other guests with strips of goatskin culled from the priest's sacrifice. Contrary to what you might think, the other guest welcomed a good lashing, for it meant good luck and, if you were a young bride, promised fertility and easy childbirth. Needless to say a good deal of wine was consumed before, during and after the main event.
Looking back from the cynical perspective of twenty-first century capitalism, it all sounds so quaint and innocent. Today, the Italians celebrate Valentine's Day in North American fashion: buying cards, chocolates and flowers out of love or a sense of duty.

Publication Date: 2004-02-15
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3643