Valentine’s Days is supposed to be the most
romantic Day of the year. It’s celebrated every February 14th in the
U.S. and other English speaking countries.
Origins
There are many versions for its origin. The
most well-known says that once there was a Priest named Valentine who secretly
helped young couples to get married in a time single men were considered better
soldiers.
A variation of the tale says that Valentine was
taken to prison for helping Christians to escape from Romans. Imprisoned and condemned
to death, he fell in love for a young girl (probably a jailor’s daughter) and
just before his death he sent he a letter which finished with the expression ‘from
your Valentine”. This is considered by many the first Valentine greeting card,
and even today the word “Valentine” is a synonym for a person who is loved by
other.
But Valentine's Day is not just about lovers, so it's also common to send greeting cards to friends or family.
History
There were at least three Catholic
saints named Valentine that could have inspired the legend and some people
claims that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in February because Valentine’s
birthday or death.
But its true origin was probably a pagan fertility festival
called Lupercalia, which was celebrated in February 15th in honor of
Faunus (or Pan), the god of agriculture. As many other festivities it was later Christianized
and replaced by a Catholic celebration by Pope Gelasius at the end of the 5th
century AD.
Valentine's Day in Brazil?
In Brazil we don’t celebrate the ‘Valentine’s
Day’ in February. Actually, I’m not sure if Saint Valentine is a popular saint
around here. But we do have ‘Santo Antonio’ (or "Saint Anthony”), who is
considered the protector of lovers. The “Santo
Antonio’s day” is celebrated in June 12th. The idea is basically the same, with lots of
heart-shaped chocolates, greeting cards and romance, and it's 'commercial' name is "Dia dos Namorados" (something like "the Sweethearts' Day"). There’s a popular belief
that Santo Antonio can help single women to find husbands, what makes him a
very popular Catholic Saint.
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