The ANNOTICO Report
Carnevale (Mardi Gras), Valentines
Day, and St Patrick's Day, ALL with
Roman/Italian Origins.
It's Always
GREAT to be ITALIAN, but in the First Quarter of the year,
there are a series
of celebrations that are small
reminders of the enormous influence of
our Roman/Italian Heritage on
Western Civilization.
Warning: There are
only 6 days to Valentine's Day. Have you figured out the
gift or plans for
your "significant" other?
An Italian Flavor would be very traditional, and
"tasteful"!!
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The
story of Cupid is also included further on.
THE STORY OF VALENTINE'S
DAY
The holiday of Valentine's Day probably derives its origins
from the
ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia. In the early days of Rome, fierce
wolves
roamed the woods nearby. The Romans called upon one of their
gods,
Lupercus, to keep the wolves away. 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
Amore' on the Net
(Valentines Day) - The Story
http://www.holidays.net/amore/story.html
====================================================
CUPID
The
Most Famous of Valentine Symbols
Cupid has always played a role in the
celebrations of love and lovers. He
is known as a mischievous, winged child,
whose arrows who would pierce the
hearts of his victims causing them to fall
deeply in love. In ancient
Greece he was known as Eros the young son of
Aphrodite, the goddess of love
and beauty. To the Roman's he was Cupid, and
his mother Venus
One legend tells the story of Cupid and the mortal
maiden, Psyche. Venus
was jealous of the beauty of Psyche, and ordered Cupid
to punish the
mortal. But instead, Cupid fell deeply in love with her. He
took her as his
wife, but as a mortal she was forbidden to look at him.
Psyche was happy
until her sisters convinced her to look at Cupid. Cupid
punished her by
departing. Their lovely castle and gardens vanished with him
and Psyche
found herself alone in an open field
As she wandered to
find her love, she came upon the temple of Venus.
Wishing to destroy her, the
goddess of love gave Psyche a series of tasks,
each harder and dangerous than
the last. For her last task Psyche was given
a little box and told to take it
to the underworld. She was told to get
some of the beauty of Proserpine, the
wife of Pluto, and put it in the box.
During her trip she was given
tips on avoiding the dangers of the realm of
the dead. And also warned not to
open the box. Temptation would overcome
Psyche and she opened the box. But
instead of finding beauty, she found
deadly slumber
Cupid found her
lifeless on the ground. He gathered the sleep from her body
and put it back
in the box. Cupid forgave her, as did Venus. The gods,
moved by Psyche's love
for Cupid made her a goddess.
Amore' on the Net (Valentines Day) -
Cupid
http://www.holidays.net/amore/cupid.html