A day for love as old as time
Although he may be wearing a business suit . and using a mobile phone to order roses for his sweetheart, the young man sending Valentine's Day gift is I celebrating a festival ' older than Christian times. The date of 14 February has been an orgy of romance since the days of the Roman Empire and maybe even earlier. Historians believe it was first a pagan festival, possibly w Lupercalia, that was ~ absorbed into the Christian calendar. Lupercalia was dedicated to Pan, the god of fertility, and Juno, the guardian of women and goddess of married life. It was celebrated as winter drew to a close and the earliest spring flowers came into bloom, carrying with them thoughts of renewal and procreation. Tradition has it that birds choose their mates on St Valentine's Day — a belief which has some foundation since certain speciesr including the thrush and partridge, select their mates in midFebruary (we're talking
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/RUBUL19960213.2.38.1.2
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Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 623, 13 February 1996, Page 10
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161A day for love as old as time Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 623, 13 February 1996, Page 10
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