#132: Valentine's Day
English Learning for Curious Minds
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The Roman Feast of Saint Valentin
The Feast of Saint Valentin was added to the Catholic religious calendar around the year 496. There are some interesting theories about why the date of February 14th was chosen. The theory goes that it was placed on that day to coincide with a pagan festival that was celebrated by the Romans called Lupacalia. During this, Roman priests would meet at a cave where it was believed Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, had been brought up by a wolf. They would then sacrifice a goat, they would cut off its skin and dip pieces into blood before slapping women in the streets for fertility. It wasn't a huge jump to go from a festival that celebrated reproduction through to one
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