Holly Pruett
  • Home
  • Blog

Happy Lupercalia!

2/14/2016

 
Picture
"I’ve always thought that tradition is to the community what memory is to the individual. And if you lose your memory, you wake up in the morning, you don’t know where you are, who you are, what ground you're standing on. And if you lose your tradition, it’s the same thing."
​
~ John O'Donohue


What do a she-wolf, a sacred cave, a goat, and the mating season of birds have to do with a holiday now associated with roses, chocolates, and frilly red hearts?

I grew up in a household skeptical of Hallmark holidays and the kind of forced sentimentality that's often a greater expression of commercial consumerism than any deeply inherited meaning. 

But Hallmark is only one in the long line of forces that has channeled ancient rites and rituals into modern mores. The Christian Church grafted its holidays onto any number of pagan celebrations in an effort to coopt the rhythms of nature-based rites that had created meaning and strengthened communities for countless centuries. 

Lupercalia, for instance: a sacred festival held in the middle of February to connect Romans to their origin story and to Faunus, their god of forest and fields. You could hardly get more nature-based than Rome's founders, Romulus and Remus, who were suckled as infants by a she-wolf, a lupa. An order of priests called the Luperci would gather at the cave thought to be the site of this early day-care center. According to History.com:

The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city’s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.

At the end of the 5th century AD Pope Gelasius outlawed Lupercalia as sacrilegious and replaced it with St. Valentine’s Day. (No one knows exactly who Valentine was; there are at least three martyred saints by that name.)

It just so happens that the day chosen by the Catholic Church to honor St. Valentine's was the same day known by many in the Middle Ages as the start of birds' mating season. It's not surprising that these longer days of February have been heralded by fertility rituals throughout the ages.

We know so little about the ground our ancestors stood on, the traditions that sustained them and connected them to the seen and unseen worlds around them. But occasionally we get a sense, a stirring in the season - in our cells, even - of the thin line that connects our lives to theirs.
Manena
2/14/2016 12:25:05 pm

Loved reconnecting with you and I loved your valentine message


Comments are closed.
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    October 2012
    September 2012

    Author

    I want to know your story. And I want to help you tell it. If you’re eager to embrace the meaning in your life and to connect more deeply with others, you’ve found a kindred spirit in me.

    Categories

    All
    Adventures
    Anniversaries
    Beginning Of Life
    Ceremonies
    Coming Of Age
    Community
    House Rituals
    Memorials
    Pet Loss
    Publications
    Seasons
    Transitions
    Tributes
    Weddings

    RSS Feed


  • Holly Pruett Celebrant LLC – Creative Life Ceremonies from Cradle to Grave
  • Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant ® | Funeral & Wedding Officiant | Interfaith Minister
  • [email protected] | 503.348.0967 | Portland, Oregon, USA
  • Copyright © 2012 | Design by Red Door Designs
  • eMail
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Plus
  • RSS Feed
Design by Weebly Templates and Weebly Themes
Storybrand Website Design by Red Door Designs