Be ours, Valentines!

What did you know?

Short answers.

1. The origin of the holiday may be the Roman Lupercalia. This involved naked men (yikes) hitting women with the hides of sacrificed dogs and goats. (Ugh.) Why did young women put up with this?
   It was supposed to make them fertile.
2. There were two men named Valentine in the Third Century CE. What did they have in common?
   They were both martyred on 14 February, but in different years.
3. The Church got hold of Lupercalia, made it into St Valentine's Day, and told everybody to keep their clothes on. Why was it still a dodgy festival?
   It was still about fertility.
4. Chaucer was big on Valentine's Day. What did people exchange in the Middle Ages?
   Homemade greeting cards.
5. What were 'kissing comfits', and why did Elizabethans like them?
   Lozenges with sayings on them. They were sweet. Everybody likes sweet.
6. Where would you find racy sayings such as 'Can you polka?' in Victorian times?
   On 'conversation lozenges'. Sort of an update on the Elizabethan model.
7. What tasty location might you find 'Luv U 24/7' in the UK today?
   On ultramodern Love Hearts. Plus ça change.
8. What mass production began in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, in 1913?
   Greeting cards. Hallmark: When you care enough to send the very best, but don't care enough to make them yourself, like in the Middle Ages.
9. What is SAD, and how do you celebrate it?
   Singles Awareness Day, either 14 or 15 February. Celebrate it any way you like: binge on chocolate, watch a movie alone, etc.
10. What is different about the way Valentine's Day is celebrated in Japan?
    The ladies give their men candy. Not beer, mind you. Candy.

Will this change anything? No. No matter how creepy you think this festival is, people will still spend billions on chocolate, flowers, and silly negligés.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

13.02.17 Front Page

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