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| Dreamy James McAvoy as Mr. Tumnus |
Did you know that the origin of Valentine's day celebrations lays in an early Roman, pre-christian pagan festival known as Lupercalia? And that it was a celebration of fertility, aimed at expiating and purifying new life before the Spring? As described by Plutarch:
<< Lupercalia, of which many write ... was anciently celebrated by shepherds, and has also some connection with the Arcadian Lycaea. At this time many of the noble youths and of the magistrates run up and down through the city naked, for sport and laughter striking those they meet with shaggy thongs. And many women of rank also purposely get in their way, and like children at school present their hands to be struck, believing that the pregnant will thus be helped in delivery, and the barren to pregnancy.>>*
<< Lupercalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility. Lupercalia subsumed Februa, an earlier-origin spring cleansing ritual held on the same date, which gives the month of February (Februarius) its name. The name Lupercalia was believed in antiquity to evince some connection with the Ancient Greek festival of the Arcadian Lykaia (from Ancient Greek: λύκος — lukos, "wolf", Latin lupus) and the worship of Lycaean Pan, assumed to be a Greek equivalent to Faunus, as instituted by Evander. In Roman mythology, Lupercus is a god sometimes identified with the Roman god Faunus, who is the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Pan. Lupercus is the god of shepherds. His festival, celebrated on the anniversary of the founding of his temple on February 15, was called the Lupercalia.>>**
It was not until 496 AD that the Pope, Gelasius, declared 14 February to be St Valentine's Day, a Christian feast day. This is likely to have been an if-you-can't-beat-them-join-them approach to the still-popular pagan festival of Lupercalia.
I would much rather celebrate a pagan fertility tradition than the overflow of hearts and glorification of great romantic gestures that Hallmark has made of this day. And if it will "help bring the barren to pregnancy" I am up for it. Now I just have to convince the boy to wear a goats skin while running around in his birth suit. Hmmm. Not sure if he's up for it.
It is snowing and all this writing about Fauns got me thinking about Mr. Tumnus and Lucy. I will not sacrifice a dog or a goat, but I will attempt to make salt mealcakes (whatever those are). Who knows... maybe it'll work.
* Plutarch. Life of Caesar.
** From our dear wikipedia.
First image from here, second, original illustration by Pauline Bynes from here.
Wow, what a cool cultural history lesson that will make me look at today in a whole new way! (I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day either). And who knows, maybe the magic of the day, and salt mealcakes, will bring us some luck. Worth a try ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Yeah, at this point I will try anything. I always like to dig in to the true, primitive origins of the holidays and traditions. You find all kinds of itneresting stuff. I made almond-meal cake, actually I was feeling kind of sick, so the boy made it, under my supervision hah. It was delicious, though a different kind of cake (as it was eggless, butterless and used almond-meal).
DeleteLove fauns... Y no le hagas eso al pobre hombre jajaja...
ReplyDeleteJajaja claro que no, era broma, no se notó?
DeleteLos faunos son lo máximo!
Nothing beats the original Greco-Roman traditions for holidays like this. We've mostly opted out of Valentine's this year other than a belated dinner out - we do date nights anyway so we're taking this as an excuse to have another one sooner than we usually would. But flowers, candy, trying to top previous year's gifts? I don't know. I think I'm secure enough in my marriage not to need all of that.
ReplyDeleteDate nights are the best! And pagan / greco roman / pantheistic traditions are very interesting. They encompass very well this feeling I have that everything is connected. A little bit like the chaos theories, or Gaia, from J. Lovelock.
DeleteYou also need to get him to strike you with a "shaggy thong," which sounds like the kinkiest, if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteThe Narnia series is my absolute favorite. I wrote an essay in college about all of the Biblical references (don't ask me why...I'm totally not religious, maybe because it went over my head as a child?). The Horse and His Boy is my favorite. Because of the horse (duh), their sarcastic relationship, and watching the kids show up in the story from an outside perspective.
Haha yeah I thought about that shaggy thong thing and really wondered what that meant.
DeleteI am a hardcore fan of Narnia, and funnily enough, during college I also wrote an essay on The Chronicles of Narnia, Fairy Tales and their relationship to Faith. I think I will post it sometime here, I reread it recently and was quite surprised I wrote all of that, at 18. It's in Spanish though, but I think you'll be able to read it.
I was raised Catholic, but I am more of a spiritual-superstitious (religious?) kind of person. I do believe in God, or at least in Something Bigger than all of this, who does not necesarily have the appereance of an old man with a white beard watching us from the clouds. I consider myself a Christian but more in a "follow the message", live as he taught kind of way. And I interpret the Bible stories very freely, I take them as metaphors, and I go to church when I feel like it, though I do enjoy reading the gospels and stories and analysing them. I am not sure all of that would be approved by the Church as it is.
I also believe that there is no Universal truth, or rather, that most philosophies / religions strive for the same basic principles, and that the most important thing is to love and respect each other and the World around us... Not do wars in the name of any religion, not to proselitise, not to try to convince the others that you are the owner of the Truth, because in the end, there are as many truths as human beings (just don't kill the other ones). Hmm. Complicated stuff.
One day late, but one of my favourite things I've always associated with Lupercalia is the song 'Satyros' by Faun. Maybe you'll like it too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYpEdXhnOB4
ReplyDeleteI agree, too that Lupercalia is a way better festival to celebrate than Valentine's. For you, Lupercalia bears a deeply personal significance. Additionally, it's supposed to prepare is for the coming of spring. I'm inclined to think you'll like that too :)
Did you manage to find a recipe for the salt meal cakes?
Of course I will happily celebrate any festival that celebrates the coming of Spring. As I write I am listening to Faun's song. I love it. Celtic music is beautiful.
DeleteYesterday I kept thinking and I reached the un-learned conclusion that Carnival + Lent probably also originate from this festival as well (expiation and purification before Spring sound way to familiar to my up bringings, and one of the specialties of the Catholic Church is taking an ancient celebration / holiday / god and replace it with their own narrative). If you can't beat them join them.
I did not find a recipe for salt meal cakes (though from this article I think they must have been something similar to mexican tortillas, or Indian Roti, or any kind of flat bread from a dough that is then cooked over a source of heat). I made almond-meal cake, the recipe uses almond meal, bananas, and apple sauce, and is eggless and flourless. The cake was very moist, of a texture similar to the Dutch boterkoek. Here's the recipe.
I love this! I enjoy mixing up all of the traditions and finding new ways to mark the year passing and I get very fed up of the media telling me how I should be acting or what I should be doing.
ReplyDeleteI am also a huge Narnia fan and the Horse and His Boy and the Magicians Nephew were my favourites. I love those original drawings. I think I would like one of those as a print in a nursery (when I finally get to decorate one)
It's a great idea to use those drawings to decorate a nursery. I also have my eye on Alice in Wonderland prints, specially if they involve flamingos. I have a thing for flamingos. The Narnia stories really are deep... and everything a fairy tale should be.
DeleteAnd mixing traditions, knowing where they come from really gives meaning to the things we do.
I generally don't like people telling me what or how I should do stuff (oops).
Neat! I hope my fertility got celebrated yesterday! Lol. (Even though we're "not trying")
ReplyDeleteTotally! I hope this renewal helps us all of us in this boat!
DeleteI love Lupercalia! BPAL has a line of perfume for it, even: blackphoenixalchemylab.com -- I heart them big-time especially for their "lupers". Also, omg I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks JM is most dreamy as a faun.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, James McAvoy is dreamy as a faun, and as a real-life boy, and just... dreamy.
DeleteI am going to check that line by BPAL.
Lupercalia for the sin (also I think it might be related to the later christian traditions of Carnival and Lent, it all sounds too familiar).