Is this a confessional day? I don't think so. It is a fun day of cards and gift-giving of roses and chocolate. And possibly more expensive things like diamonds.
How did the Romans have people named Lupercalia? That is the feast's namesake that is identified as the origin.
So goats are involved in the history. This is how the feast was celebrated: A goat and a dog were sacrificed by men on these days and women were whipped with the hides of the sacrificed animals as it was believed that this will make them fertile.
Oh dear, that seems a poor beginning to a love festival. And the name? That came later. It is after Saint Valentine, a priest who helped Christian couples in getting married, was executed on the 14th of February. It is also said that while St. Valentine was imprisoned, he took care of the jailor’s blind daughter and even wrote her a card which said ‘from your Valentine’.
So confessing one's feelings? I think confessional gets in there because it evolved out of pagan to Roman Catholic traditions.
We need to leap forward to the current day where we chase the cutest, the best, the unique and most romantic Valentine's Day gift. It is too hard to consider our past social order.
Putting it another way, wouldn't you rather click on Valentine's day stuff and see pages of pictures of red hearts? Well, that's where I am heading.
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