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Valentine’s Day

It is believed that Valentine’s Day has been around for more than 16 centuries, but Love feastsare known to still earlier times - since the days of ancient pagan cultures. For example, in mid-February the Romans celebrated the festival of eroticism, called the Lupercalia, in honor of the goddess of love Juno Februata.
Valentine’s Day - a holiday of love - it is marked on February 14 in Europe since the XIII century,in the U.S. - since 1777, in Russia - since the early 1990s. But why is this lovers’ holiday? On this account many beautiful legends.

In celebration of St. Valentine is a specific ”culprit” - Christian priest Valentine.

This story dates back to around 269 a year, while the rules of the Roman Empire emperor Claudius II. A belligerent Roman army suffered an acute shortage of troops for military campaigns, and the captain was convinced that the main enemy of his “Napoleonic” plans -marriage, for married footballer of the glory of the empire thinks much less than that, as a familyto feed. And, in order to keep his soldiers in the military spirit, the emperor issued an edictforbidding the legionaries to marry.

But the soldiers fall in love, this does not become smaller. And their happiness was a man who, not fearing the imperial anger, began secretly marry foreign players with their lovers. He was a priest named Valentine of the Roman town of Terni (Valentine of Terni). Apparently, he was a true romantic, as his favorite amusements was to reconcile quarreling, help writing love letters and give the flowers at the request of Legionnaires’ objects of their passion.

Clearly, as soon as the emperor learned of this, he decided his “criminal activity” to stop.Valentine was sentenced to death. The tragedy of the situation was still in the fact that Valentine was himself in love with the jailer’s daughter, which miraculously healed of blindness.

The day before the execution of the priest wrote a farewell letter to a girl, where he spoke of his love and signed it “Your Valentine.” Read it was already after he was executed. Date of death coincided with the Roman celebration in honor of Juno, the goddess of love. Since then, every year, people remembered the February 14th Valentine’s Day and Valentine’s celebration staged.

Later, as a Christian martyr who suffered for his faith, Valentine was canonized by the Catholic Church. In 496, Pope Gelasius (Pope Gelasius I) announced February 14 Valentine’s Day.

Since 1969, the reform of worship Saint Valentine was removed from the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church (along with other Roman saints, for the life of which are contradictory andunreliable.) However, until 1969 the church did not approve and did not support the tradition of celebrating this day.

So there it was anyway, but apparently, it became the custom to write out on Valentine’s Daylove notes - “Valentine.” And in this day like to arrange a wedding and get married. It is believed that this will be the key to eternal love.