The ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia was celebrated annually on February 15th. This pagan holiday was dedicated to the god Lupercus, who was considered the protector of shepherds and their flocks. Lupercalia was a fertility festival that involved various rituals and customs. One of the main rituals of Lupercalia involved the sacrifice of goats and a dog. The priests, known as Luperci, would then smear the blood of the animals on the foreheads of two young men, who would later wipe it off with wool soaked in milk. This practice was believed to purify and cleanse the men, ensuring their fertility and good fortune.
In Plutarch’s Life of Julius Caesar, Caesar famously refuses a golden crown presented to him by Mark Antony during the feast of Lupercalia.
Despite the ambiguity surrounding Valentine and his life, the Catholic Church declared him a saint and listed him in Roman Martyrology as being martyred on February 14. The pair would be coupled for the festival s duration hoping to ward off evil spirits and infertility and often stayed together until the next festival.
This practice was believed to purify and cleanse the men, ensuring their fertility and good fortune. After the purification ritual, the Luperci would take strips of goat skin and run through the streets of Rome, gently striking the people they encountered, especially women. It was believed that these strikes would bring fertility and facilitate childbirth.
All About Lupercalia || The Pagan Origins of Valentine's Day
Lupercalia is an old Pagan festival coming from Ancient Rome. It takes place on February 15th and it began as a way to honor the founding of Rome. The root of the word Lupercalia means “wolf” so this festival celebrated the twin founders Romulus & Remus, who were cared for by a she-wolf as children.
On Lupercalia two groups of priests would meet in the Luperical Cave within the Palantine Hill. One group of priests were descended from the followers of Romulus and the other group were descended from the followers of Remus. Like most pagan festivals, Lupercalia began with a big feast and lots of wine. After the feasting the priests would sacrifice some goats & one dog to the Gods.
It was very rare among the Romans to sacrifice a dog so Lupercalia was most likely the only time during the year when this happened. Since this festival celebrated the she-wolf that saved Romulus & Remus, the dog was a symbolic stand-in for a wolf in this instance.
After the sacrifice two priests would come forward and the sacrificial blood would be placed on the forehead and then washed off with goats milk. This symbolically washed away the feud & violence between the founding brothers of Rome.
Afterward, all the priests would leave the cave and take the hides of the sacrificed goats to create whips out of the pieces of hide. They stripped naked and ran up and down the city streets lightly whipping the people as they ran. The whips weren’t designed to hurt anyone; this was meant to be a playful and humorous act. In fact, people wanted to get hit as it was believed that being hit with the goat whip would bring good luck and make you more fertile.
Over the years Lupercalia increased in popularity among the Roman people and transformed into a festival that primarily celebrated fertility & childbirth. This festival was so loved that it even survived after the Western Roman Empire fell. Unfortunately, in the 5th Century Pope Gelasius banned the festival due to its nudity and drunkenness and then replaced it with a much more sober occasion called the the Festival of the Purification of the Virgin Mary.
Even though Lupercalia stopped being widely celebrated after the 5th century I do think it’s telling that we celebrate our own modern fertility festival, Valentine's Day, at about the same time as Lupercalia.
Will you be celebrating Lupercalia this year? Share your thoughts below in the comments.
According to Roman legend, the ancient King Amulius ordered Romulus and Remus—his twin nephews and founders of Rome—to be thrown into the Tiber River to drown in retribution for their mother’s broken vow of celibacy.
Women would willingly expose their palms to be struck, as it was thought to increase their chances of conceiving. Another important aspect of Lupercalia was the matchmaking lottery. Men and women would place their names in a jar, and during the festival, pairs would be drawn at random. These couples would then spend the remainder of the festival together, often engaging in sexual activities. Some of these unions would even result in marriage. Lupercalia was also associated with the legend of Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome, who were said to have been nursed by a she-wolf. As such, Lupercalia held a special significance in Roman culture as a celebration of the city's origins and its connection to the natural world. Despite its pagan roots, Lupercalia persisted until the 5th century AD when the Christian Church sought to suppress pagan practices. The festival was eventually replaced by the Feast of Saint Valentine, which coincided with Lupercalia on February 14th. Over time, this Christian holiday transformed into the Valentine's Day we know today. In conclusion, the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia was a fertility celebration dedicated to the god Lupercus. It involved rituals such as animal sacrifices, purification ceremonies, matchmaking lotteries, and joyful revelry. Although it eventually fell out of favor and was replaced by Valentine's Day, Lupercalia left a lasting influence on Roman culture and the traditions that followed..
Reviews for "Lupercalia: Ancient Roman Festival or Pagan Carnival?"
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