History of São Valentim - Several relative theories exist to São Valentim's origin and the form as this Roman martyr he became the lovers' patron. One of the histories portrays São Valentim as a simple martyr that, in the middle of the séc. III A.D., he/she had refused to abdicate of the Christian faith that professed. Another defends that, in the same height, the Roman Emperor Claudius II would have prohibited the marriages, for like this angariar more soldiers for its battle fronts. A priest of the time, of name Valentim, it would have violated this imperial ordinance and it accomplished marriages in absolute secret. This secret would have been discovered and Valentim would have been arrested, tortured and convict to the death. Both theories present factores in common, what takes us to believe in them: They are out Valentim a Christian priest and a martyr that it would have been killed to February 14, 269 A.D. With relationship to the date, some people believe that is commemorated on this day by having been the date of São Valentim's death. However, others demand that the Catholic Church can have been deciding to celebrate the occasion in this date as a form of Christianizing the pagan celebrations of Lupercalia. This because, in Old Rome, February was the official month of the beginning of the Spring and it was considered a time of purification. February 14 was the day dedicated to the Juno God that, for besides queen of all the God, it was also, for the Romans, the women's Goddess and of the marriage. The following day, February 15, he began like this Lupercalia that celebrated the love and the youth. In elapsing of this party, the lovers' names were raffled that would have to be together while the festival lasted. A lot of times, these couples fell in love and they married. However, and as it happened with many other pagan parties, Lupercalia was also a ' objective the to abate' for the primitive Christianity. In an attempt of doing a transition between paganism and Christianity, the first Christians substituted the names of those fallen in love of the games of Lupercalia for saints' names and martyrs. Thus, they reconciled the festivities with the religion that you/they professed, increasing the acceptability on the part of the Romans. They are Valentim it was not exception and, as it had been killed to February 14, he/she swims better to do an adaptation of Lupercalia to the Christianity, turning it as the patron of the in love ones. Traditions of São Valentim's Day Many are the traditions associated to São Valentim's day, varying of country for country. For example, in the British Islands in the height of the Celtic ones, the children get dressed of adults and they sang from door to door, celebrating the love; in the actual Country of Wales, the lovers changed gifts to each other as wood spoons with hearts engravings, keys and locks, what meant «you Only have the key of my heart». Already in the Medium Age, in France and in the actual England, on February 14, the youths raffled the names of its pairs and these were sewn in the sleeves during one week. If somebody brought a heart sewn in the night-dress, that meant that that person was impassioned. Along the times, São Valentim's traditions went acquiring a complexity degree every larger time. To every year that passed, they went being created new traditions, legends and games, as it is the case of the passionate messages. The traditional change of cards, letters and passionate notes on February 14 he/she had origin in the height of São Valentim's own legend, when this would have left a note to its jailer's daughter. However, there is not any fact that checks this legend. Even so, it is right that, in the century XV, Charles, the young Duke of Orleans, will have been the first to use cards of São Valentim. This because, while it was trapped in the Tower of London, after the battle of Agincourt in 1945, he will have sent, for height of São Valentim, several poems and love notes to its wife that met in France. During the century XVII is known that was habit the in love ones they write original poems, or not, in small cards that sent to the people for who were impassioned. But, it was starting from 1840, in Victorian England, that São Valentim's messages became uniformed. The cards became decorated with fabric ribbons and special paper and they contained written that still today are we family, as it is the case of «Would you be my Valentine». In the days today, it is among the newest than these messages of São Valentim are more popular, being a form of they express its passions. ---------------------------- Designed and painted in Adobe Photoshop Image Already