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History and Curiosities the World Over

History and Curiosities the World Over

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Tag: stvalentine

Lupercalia most likely derives from lupus, "wolf", though both the etymology and its significance are obscure (bronze wolf's head, 1st century AD)
Europe Origin Stories

Lupercalia: The Pagan Prequel to St. Valentine’s Day?

February 14, 2023 GVC 0

One neat and tidy idea is that instead of banning Lupercalia — which Romans celebrated for a remarkably long time — Christians adopted and renamed it. This stems from a strongly-worded letter by Pope Gelasius circa 494 B.C.E., where he criticized fellow Christians for participating in something that used to showcase naked people whipping each other.

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