Be My Valentine

The True Origins of St. Valentines Day by Wendy Brinker

Io Lupercalia! Happy Valentines Day!

For most pagan blogs, this one included, it almost feels mandatory to make a post regarding the origins of many secular holidays, especially when those origins are pagan (which they usually are). 

Rather than bore you with a history lesson that you probably already know (and if you don't I invite you to check out any other pagan blog today or simply read the well-written article by Brinker I've linked to above), I thought I would share a Lupercalia memory with you. 

In high school I was rather nerdy. My language of choice was Latin and through the four years of my study I was also part of the Latin club called Junior Classical League...not only part but eventually President of the club. 

One of our favorite things to do...or, I should say, one of my favorite things we did was dress up in our Roman regalia (usually consistent of a tunic and toga for guys and a tunic and stolla and palla for girls) for the day. Whenever we saw another person in Roman attire we would shout over the crowded hallways or across the classroom "Io Lupercalia!"

The KY state Junior Classical League in our roman regalia (I'm the one in front with all the purple)

This tradition was not only relegated to Lupercalia but Saturnalia and any other Roman holiday. 

In Latin class, when we were all gathered and dressed we often would also bring food, sit or recline on the floor and be Romans for an hour (without the segregation of sexes or discrimination of rank and race of course).

Our teacher was never one to have an "off day" by playing a movie (though, the rare times this did happen we usually watched Harry Potter and had to write down the translations of the Latin spells and any reference to Roman mythology we heard) she did allow us these days as long as the discussion remained on Roman cultural topics. 

I know this isn't exactly a romantic post, but it is a happy memory of the day for me spent with friends and others of like minds. I can only hope that you, my readers, have many memories full of the same happiness on this holiday.

Io Lupercalia,

HedgeWife