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"!!

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

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