As the spirit of Valentine’s Day, laden with romantic allure, graces our presence, it unveils a tapestry woven with historical intricacies and contemporary (sadly academic) nuances. Beyond the customary exchange of affections, the roots of this celebration stretch way back to ancient Roman times. However, the history of how Valentine’s Day landed on this date is less romantic than one might think.
The roots of Valentine’s Day date back to ancient Roman times, specifically the flamboyant “Lupercalia Festival.” Some historians claim the festival celebrated the upcoming spring, while others insist it honored the Roman god of shepherds, “Faunus,” a half-human, half-goat figure akin to the Greek god “Pan.” During this festival from February 13 to 15, Romans engaged in exuberant celebrations, including the sacrifice of goats and dogs, using their skins as whips. Young women awaited these whippings, believing they enhanced fertility.
The origin of Valentine’s Day is also intertwined with the legend of the Roman priest Valentine. In the 3rd century C.E., the Roman emperor Claudius II, aiming to fortify the military, supposedly banned marriage for single men. Saint Valentine defied this decree, secretly performing Christian marriages for young lovers. He is believed to have crafted hearts from parchment to serve as reminders of vows and God’s love for persecuted Christians. This act is considered a potential origin for the common use of hearts on Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, Saint Valentine was executed on February 14, sacrificing his life for his Christian faith. In his memory, the Roman Church designated this day as Valentine’s Day.
Now, past the historical whippings and executions, let’s view Valentine’s Day through the eyes of a typical UChicago student. Valentine’s Day strategically follows midterms, sparing us the dilemma of weighing academics against romantic endeavors. No more soul-searching for opportunity costs (just imagine quietly calculating the marginal cost of spending every hour with a date and navigating the delicate and precarious balance with your academics)—it’s a GPA-friendly romance! Yet, there might be a looming humanities paper due on the seventh week (ahem, Poetry’s third paper).
If you get rejected by a crush, if you’re working on a problem set in the house lounge while your roommate sleeps and you witness a couple snogging in the most conspicuous spot, if you wake up early to brush your teeth only to force a “good morning” to a guy constantly showing up in the girls’ bathroom because he cannot bear a single minute of separation from his girlfriend (definitely not speaking from my personal experience), then you can channel your inner Baudelaire when writing the paper and lambast human vice with every line and shout out to the damned humanity! I bet this is yet another GPA-friendly approach, whether you are close-reading The Wasteland, Les Fleurs du Mal, or anything that layers mankind’s contradictions. Or, taking a more positive spin, adopt the mindset of Twelfth Night, and embrace the beauty between the lines of poetry with rose-colored glasses.
In the spirit of the whimsical comedy penned by Shakespeare, where the intricacies of love mirror life’s capriciousness, and in the echoes of T.S. Eliot, whose exploration of a fragmented yet disillusioned society endures, may we discern in the amusing and personal facets of Valentine’s Day a poetic narrative. Let this day unfold as a tapestry woven with threads of joy and introspection, marking it as the happiest one yet! Joyeuse Saint-Valentin!
