The pagan origins of Valentine's day ~ Lupercalia ~ Lupa
Lupa (Latin for “she-wolf”; plural: Lupae) can refer to: a female wolf (Canis lupus).
Sacred She-Wolf of Roman legend, nurse of the foundling twins Romulus and Remus.
Lupa' s temple harlots were lupae, sometimes called Queens (or high priestesses) in outlying towns of the empire.
Lupa' s greatest festival was the annual Lupercalia, celebrated in the Grotto of the She-Wolf, with orgiastic rites to insure the year'sfertility. After participating in the ceremony, naked youths traveledthroughout Palatine towns to "purify" them. Perhaps this was why, after Lupa' s festival was adopted by the Christian church, circa 496, it was renamed the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin.
