Valentine's day through the Years or the centuries
Author 'Fanfan' (Id 214701 ) : A celebration dating back to Ancient times
The date on which we celebrate Valentine's day is a legacy of Ancient Rome. Held every February 15, Lupercalia celebrate then Faunus Lupercus, god of fertility, of shepherds and flocks. Rite of purification, held at the end of the roman year (which begins on the 1st of march), this pagan festival takes place in three stages. First of all, the priests sacrificed a goat in the cave of the Lupercal (the side of the Palatine hill), where, according to legend, the she-wolf allaita the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. They coat then young people from noble families of the blood of the sacrifice in a ceremony that symbolizes the purification of the shepherds.