Cupid's Rise to the Top

By Bob Cox

With Valentine’s Day coming to a heart and retail store near you, have you ever wondered how the whole thing began? Me too, so I did a little research (very little) and here’s what I came up with.

St. Valentine's Day began as a celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. A popular account of Saint Valentine of Rome states that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. Before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell.

Valentines Day was first associated with romantic love during the Middle Ages, when the tradition of courting was commonplace. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion for lovers to express their love for each other by presenting flowers, confectionery and greeting cards. Well, there goes my theory about how Valentine’s Day was named after Rudolph Valentino! Unbeknownst to me, that famous actor during the early years of motion pictures had nothing to do with it. On top of all that, his real name was actually Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filibert Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla. Now say that three times real fast!

So how did the cute and cuddly little character we all know as Cupid get drug into the business of greeting cards and heart-shaped boxes of chocolates? Perhaps his old lady had a little something to do with it. After all, Cupid is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus in classical mythology. He is also the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. While his Greek counterpart Eros appears in classical Greek art as a slender winged youth during the Hellenistic period, Cupid was increasingly portrayed as a chubby boy. In Cupid’s defense, I challenge you to surround yourself in cases of chocolate with absolutely no adult supervion and see how well you manage your weight and self control!

As the unofficial C.E.O. and icon of Valentine’s Day, Cupid has had his fair share of admirable competitors that have challenged his reign of supremecy over the years, from Rudolph Valentino to Elvis Presley, but alas, the cheerful chubby cherub has managed to rise head and shoulders above the rest. Perhaps it’s all in the wings, and no Red Bull, you won’t get credit for that.

I guess I should be relieved that I was all wrong about the origins of Valentines Day. Otherwise, we might all be forced into saying Happy Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filibert Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla’s Day!