| "It's a Hallmark holiday" claim the
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| | selected from a bowl. The pairing
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| skeptics. You need a card, a present, a
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| | continued for the length of the festival
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| meal in a restaurant. You're obliged to
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| | and sometimes beyond.As Christianity
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| spend, spend, spend.But Valentine's Day
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| | gradually advanced through Europe the
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| precedes consumerism, corporations,
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| | church replaced pagan festivals with
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| greeting cards, civilisation and even
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| | festivals more suited to the new faith.
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| Christianity. It is an expression of
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| | They kept the days of the festivals the
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| what it is to be human. While every day
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| | same to ease the introduction of the new
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| pressures squeeze the romance out of
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| | religion but they changed the name and
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| life, Valentine's day is an island of
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| | the reason for the festival. The
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| corny indulgence in a giant sea of
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| | Lupercalia's pairing of men and women
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| cynicism.One early attempt at valentine
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| | went against the teachings of
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| romance, saw me commit several days to
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| | Christianity. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius
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| preparation. Roses, a three course meal,
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| | ended the festival of Lupercalia and
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| as exotic as a slightly green eighteen
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| | replaced it with St. Valentine's Day.
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| year old could muster and on top of that
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| | St. Valentine was declared the patron
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| a singing waiter (an extroverted mate
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| | saint of lovers. The pairing of couples
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| dressed up) to serve the food.In
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| | was replaced and people were, instead,
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| retrospect the menu was bizarre. Raw
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| | paired with a saint. The name of a saint
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| cauliflower and carrots with a mayonnaise
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| | would be drawn from a bowl and the person
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| and curry powder dip. For the main
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| | who chose it would then learn about, and
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| course a slightly watery stir fried rice
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| | try to emulate that saint for the
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| dish (I didn't have a strainer to strain
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| | following year.Pairing with a saint and
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| the rice). This was laced with an over
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| | the churches concept of St. Valentine's
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| generous helping of chilli peppers, all
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| | Day lasted hundreds of years, but the
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| teenage boys first learn to cook with
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| | spirit of the Lupercalia lived on in
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| chilli peppers. For dessert strawberries
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| | hearts, minds and spirits of the people.
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| and bananas with a chocolate dip. Ah the
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| | By the 15th Century eligible singles
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| deep hormonal motivations of eighteen
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| | began pairing again. Medieval knights
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| year old boys. Everything was in place
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| | drew the names of their valentines from
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| and my mate, the singing waiter completed
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| | bowls and wore the names on their sleeves
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| my love trap.Maybe the fascination and
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| | swearing to honour and protect them. They
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| intrigues of being in love and
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| | would sing love songs and profess their
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| particularly the physical side of it are
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| | love with poetry. Eventually it became
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| not the preserve of eighteen year old
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| | customary to write the verses down for
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| boys. Valentines day has its origins in
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| | your lover to read and by the 1600's
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| ancient Rome and it has survived
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| | Valentine cards had become quite
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| centuries of religious interference and
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| | elaborate. Possibly due to the fact that
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| censorship to return to resemble what it
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| | most people were unable to read or write
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| originally was - a celebration of love
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| | intricate handmade paper valentines
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| and pairings.The Lupercalia was a Roman
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| | became a normal mode of exchange between
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| festival celebrated on the 15th Day of
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| | lovers on Valentines Day and the first of
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| February. In the Roman calendar February
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| | what could be recognised as a valentines
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| was later in the year and so the
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| | card appeared.Their popularity was
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| Lupercalia was a spring festival.This
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| | sufficient that by the early 1800's
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| festival was even old to the Romans, they
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| | commercially produced Valentines were
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| were unsure of which deity it honoured.
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| | available. Initially they were hand
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| It emerged from the days when Rome was a
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| | painted by factory workers but by 1900
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| small shepherding community on a hill
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| | valentines were made entirely by machines
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| called the Palantine and could have
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| | using woodcuts and then eventually
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| honoured Lupercus, who protected flocks
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| | lithographs.Today's Valentine cards are
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| against wolves, Rumina whose temple
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| | frequently anonymous. They emphasise
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| overlooked the place where the she-wolf
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| | either a sense of humour, reputed to be
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| suckled Romulus and Remus or Faunus the
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| | the greatest aphrodisiac, or a sense of
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| god of shepherds and agriculture.Before
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| | romance - and occasionally both. Modern
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| the times of the great city of Rome the
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| | valentine cards can be rude, suggestive,
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| Lupercalia was a very joyous occasion.
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| | funny and cheeky as often as romantic.
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| The foreheads of two youths were smeared
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| | There anonimity adds to the intrigue,
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| with the blood of a sacrificed dog and
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| | hopes and fantasies. Love and romance
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| goat. They then made their way around the
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| | are a deep part of the human condition,
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| perimeter of the city of Rome followed by
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| | despite the church's early attempts to
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| priests lightly tapping women on the way
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| | change its meaning the spirit of the
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| with strips of the goats skin. This act
| |
| | Lupercalia lives on today. It has
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| was to protect them against
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| | survived thousands of years and it is
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| infertility.As Rome became the dominant
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| | likely to be around for many more.As for
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| civilisation of the era, the Lupercalia
| |
| | the success of my early romantic
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| continued as an important part of the
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| | dabblings. Well the waiter was flat; the
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| calendar. The seeds of the modern St.
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| | food was uncomfortable on the palette,
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| Valentine's Day were sewn by Roman
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| | and my date? Well, she was polite, ate
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| soldiers who took the Lupercalia customs
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| | as much as she could stomach and made her
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| with them to countries they conquered and
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| | excuses and left, probably for home and a
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| occupied. One such custom was the pairing
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| | pint of Gaviscon.
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| of men with women whose names they
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