What Feast did the ancient Romans celebrate on the 14th February?

TabbyTom

I can’t find any mention of an ancient Roman festival on 14th February (a.d. xvi Kal Mart). 15th February (a.d. xv Kal Mart) was the feast of Lupercalia (confirmed in Oxford Companion to the Year, Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, Chambers Dictionary and Brewer). Feb 24 06, 4:39 AM

mementoflash

The Feast of Lubercus. Feb 24 06, 6:35 AM

phlevel

I just had a History Unit in this. The answer is in fact the feast of Lupercalius Feb 24 06, 9:22 AM

Baloo55th

The feast and goings-on were the Lupercalia, indeed, and the Romans celebrated it, as Tom says, on what we call Feb 15th. The feast was taken over by the Christians, as they did so many others, and toned down from the rather erotic Lupercalia to the mild Valentine's Day - Valentine's Day because his feast day was Feb 14th. They did quite a bit of editing (as they often did) to make him fit the romantic (as opposed to Roman!) picture, though. A good explanation here: http://www.me2u.com/LoveLore/Valentine/ Feb 24 06, 11:05 AM

gmackematix

In that case, the Eve of the Feast of Lupercalia? Feb 24 06, 12:23 PM

adams627

I believe the Feast of Lupercalia is in Julius Caesar also. Feb 25 06, 8:11 AM