The Romans used to celebrate Lupercalia in February, which in roman times fell a little later in the year. The story goes that Romulus and Remus, the twin brothers that founded Rome, were dumped in the river as babies by their jealous uncle who contested their right to the throne. They were saved and suckled by a Lupa : meaning she-wolf or sacred sex-worker until they eventually regained their power. To commemorate this the Luperci priests would gathered at the cave of Lupercal on Palentine Hill on February 13-15 with the dawning of spring to avert evil spirits, promoting health and fertility.
Virgins would bring cakes made from the first ears of last years grain to the fig tree and help two naked men, representing Romulus and Remus, sacrifice a goat and a dog. The goat's blood was smeared on the foreheads of the young men and then wiped away with wool dipped in milk. The youth would then dress themselves in loin clothes made from the goat and run through the city lightly spanking woman with the left over strips of goat hide. Young women would line up for whippings that were believed to increase their fertility and chances of easy childbirth.
Long after when Palentine Hill became a central part of the Roman empire, the festival grew and adapted. People participated in lottery games where the names of available maidens were drawn out of a box by young men. They would then pair off accordingly for the duration of the Lupercalia festivities. A game which made a come back during Medieval times except the pairing lasted for a full year with bachelors swearing to love and protect their 'valentines' with their ladies name sewn on their sleeves.
As Christianity took over, traditions were straight up replaced. It was easier to convert existing celebrations than change the dates so Pope Galasius did away with Lupercalia in 496 AD citing it pagan and immoral. He chose Valentine as the saint of love that would now be honored instead. The lottery was transformed into a game where people would all pulled the names of saints from a box to be studied and emulated over the coming year. There isnt a clear origin for the St Valentine character, there were several Valetines romping around back in the day but the most popular story is of a priest that was imprisoned for his christian beliefs. He was preaching the godly word to guards and other prisoners and managed to cure the gatekeepers lovely daughter from blindness (which he was then executed for). His last message to her was simply signed "From Your Valentine". (One has to wonder if she could read after only gaining her eyesight but it sure is a good martyred love story)
By the 17th century people were sending pretty Valetines cards with lace and ribbons. A reduction of postal costs in the 18th century opened the market for anonymous messages which forever changed the game. Freed from negative sexually repressive stereotypes, people began sending racey and suggestive messages much to the upset of the prudish Victorians. Many countries banned the 'obscene' tradition of exchanging cards, and late in the 19th century a post office in Chicago rejected 25,000 cards on the ground that they were not fit to be sent my the US mail.
Valentines Day signaled the coming of commercialized holidays in the States and Canada. Its also thought of as one of the founding 'Hallmark holidays' along with Mother's Day and Father's Day although Hallmark denies any responsibility in their creation. About a billion valentines are mailed worldwide each year, a business which has grown to be second only to Christmas in sales. And Hallmark holds court on 50% of the cards sent each year. Worldwide, Hallmark has more than 18,000 full-time employees. Together they generate more than 19,000 new and redesigned greeting cards and related products per year.
They must be making some serious money.
What's interesting is that people are still also actively celebrating its roots. There is a group in edmonton that throws yearly Lupercalia weekends of 'fetish and fun with a taste of ancient rome'. This group puts on workshops such as 'Cognito Ergo Thud' a workshop that promises to teach proper spanking without repetitive strain injuries to shoulders and elbows. Lupercalia-edmonton
Erotic spanking has long been a form of arousing play for a variety of cultures as many believe pain is an aphrodisiac. The Kama Sutra goes into great detail discussing the proper methods for striking a lover during sex and funnily enough, the Chinese New Year begins with a week-long 'Spring Festival' where thousands of Chinese go for a light spanking or whipping to get rid of bad luck.
And although the Chinese New Years is based on the lunar cycles which means its gregorian dates change from year to year, this year is falls on Valentines Day ringing in the year of the Metal Tiger:
"The Year of The Tiger begins on February 14th 2010. Drama, intensity, change and travel will be the keywords for 2010. Unfortunately, world conflicts and disasters tend to feature during Tiger years also, so it won’t be a dull 12 months for anyone. The Year of the Tiger will bring far reaching changes for everyone. New inventions and incredible technological advances have a good chance of occurring. For all of the Chinese horoscope signs, this year is one to be active – seizing opportunities and making the most of our personal and very individual talents. Everything happens quickly and dramatically in a Tiger year – blink and you could miss an important chance of a lifetime!"
Hmmmmm, sounds just the kind of earth-shattering change we need to rattle us from these strict sexual constructs ;)
In honor of Lupa I'll end with a youtube clip from Secretary (2002) a movie about the development of a BDSM relationship between a successful lawyer and his secretary.
with shared vision,
Marika Swan
Tla-o-qui-aht Nation
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