By, Carol Fisher-Linn
Remember as a preschooler when you gave little cutout cards to your classmates for Valentine’s Day? In that package of cards there were always some Cupids with their bows, ready to make someone fall in love. I saved those for the boy I was sweet on during my Valentine giving years as a child.
The story of Cupid is, of course, a myth. He is also known as Amor or Cupido in Roman mythology, and Eros in Greek mythology. Cupid’s mom was Venus (aka Aphrodite in Greek mythology), who was the goddess of love and beauty. Venus is also a planet. Venus, called the “evening star,” is the very first planet we see in the west every night just after the sun goes down, or the “morning star” when she is seen in the east immediately before sunrise. Cupid’s dad, Mars (aka Mercury), was the Roman god of war. Mars also has a planet named after him. You can see Mars in the sky easily. Just look south to the Moon and Mars is near it appearing as a little orange-red dot. According to greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Cupid took turns living with both his parents in the heavens.
up in heart shaped boxes.
In ancient Greece, Cupid was an adult man and quite menacing. When the Romans came along, they adopted the myth of Cupid, but they presented him as a cherubic little boy who followed his mother’s wishes to make people fall in love. Greeks considered him callous, but the Romans viewed Cupid as beneficent who brought happiness to couples everywhere. He generally did his mother’s bidding, but her plan backfired when he sent him to destroy her competition in beauty and grace, Psyche. He fell in love with her and despite Venus’s power, he was able to make Psyche his immortal wife. We must assume that Cupid and Psyche found their own lodging in the heavens after their marriage since mom would have been very upset with her son and no longer opened her home to him.
So, how is it that little naked Cupid became a mascot of the holy Saint Valentine’s Day? Interestingly, there was more than one Saint Valentine. St. Valentine’s Day is likely a celebration of the life and deaths of two martyred men named Valentine. The day chosen was February 14, which is when they were both martyred in separate years. It was also the beginning of the spring season in the Middle Ages. Although this day coincided with the pagan festival of Lupercalia (parts of which were really kind of gross – hardly romantic unless promised fertility by being hit with blood-soaked animal skins or being involved with a stranger for a year because he won you in a lottery falls under the definition of romance).
Cherubic Cupid was historically associated with love, and the Saints’ Valentine helped facilitate forbidden loving unions. This spilled over into commemorating the idea of love on their feast day. The Saints and Cupid merged when exchanging cards was popularized in the 18th-19th centuries. Cupid started appearing on expressions of affection. Then, in 1913, along came Hallmark which started mass-producing Valentine’s Day cards. Cute flying toddler Cupid was an irresistible draw and a figure people were familiar with. He appeared everywhere. Cards came in all sizes and forms, from small to the large boxed, padded, scented ones that lasted through the 1950’s. Today over 145 million adult Valentine’s cards are exchanged.
The red rose has mythological provenance which again involves Aphrodite (aka Venus). The Readers’ Digest claims that she was scratched by the thorn of a white rose and her bleeding caused the rose to turn red. Practically speaking, flowers for St. Valentine’s Day came out of 19th-century England’s idea of assigning meaning to different kinds of flowers. Red roses spoke of love. Being pricey, they convey the message that the giver must be serious about his feelings for the recipient.
And then there is the business of giving chocolates. In 1861 Cadbury candy first had the idea for chocolates served up in heart shaped boxes. Other chocolatiers copied the boxes, and you can buy the famous Watson’s chocolates in beautiful heart-shaped boxes here in Ellicottville (or at any of their 7 other convenient locations: Kenmore, E. Amherst, Victor, Downtown Buffalo -Elmwood Ave, Orchard Park, Lancaster & Niagara Falls). Which gift will you give the one you love? Every retail establishment will have the perfect gift waiting for you. You still have time. Happy shopping. Happy Valentine’s Day!