Octavia

Even though the usual cold weather had set in on the eve of Lupercalia, Octavia was determined to sleep well. Thoughts of the coming festival put a smile on her face as the young woman warmed her body under the blankets. She still lived with her parents basically at the center of Rome, near Palatine Hill. And Palatine Hill just happened to be at the center of the upcoming annual celebration.

Lupercalia had not only been a tradition that Octavia had grown up observing, but one that her family, and indeed most of Rome had celebrated every February for centuries.

But this year was special in that Octavia had really matured into a young beautiful woman. Her body had developed and her mind was not only more aware of the opposite sex but at times preoccupied with it. Before this time without her parents approval, Octavia could really only look on at the events and watch the older women run around and flirt with the other young men, hoping that one of the Luperci, (the group of Roman priests who administered the good luck lashing) found their body to strike.

You see, after the priests sacrificed some goats and dogs to Lupercus, (the Roman goddess of fertility), they’d cut the skin of the goats into long strips. After smearing goat blood on their foreheads and then removing it with milk, the priests would then grab the ribbons of goat hide and run around laughing, whipping any female within range. While all the women obviously wanted to be touched by the goat hide turned to playful whip, no woman wanted to look desperate and run towards the priests, but away from them. It was like an innocent game of boys and girls chasing each other, where the girls acted like they didn't want to be pursued, but really enjoyed it, while the boys likewise feigned being burdened by running after the girls but were themselves, loving it. The women wanted to be lashed with the goat skin because it was legend that it would help them become more fertile - if the woman was already pregnant it was a sort of added blessing for a healthy pregnancy and delivery. In reality, only a few really believed in this consecration of fertility whereas most just wanted to have fun and potentially find a mate - even if it was just for a night or two. That was the other part of Lupercalia - the men would randomly chose a female’s name from a jar and be paired up with them for the remainder of the celebration. Few couples stayed together for the whole year.

All of this celebration was made even more provocative by both the priests and women being somewhat scantily clothed. Octavia had heard stories from her grandparents that when Lupercalia was observed in their day, the priests were actually naked, but as time past, for whatever reasons, full nudity had become unpopular. It probably had something to do with Rome officially changing from pagan to Christian worship over a hundred years ago in A.D. 380. Nonetheless, Octavia had her outfit picked out and ready to go - the perfect mixture of concealing and revealing. Although she had tried it on numerous times in the weeks before, Octavia fell asleep imagining what she’d look like with it on tomorrow among all the other girls in the crowd.

As the sun rose, so did Octavia - a bit earlier than normal. The excitement of the upcoming day, was difficult for the young woman to hide. It was the morning of February 13th in the year four hundred and ninety-six - the first of the three day celebration and excitement was in the air. That is, until Octavia overheard her father talking to her mother in a hushed voice. They knew Octavia was desperately looking forward to Lupercalia, so they both looked a bit dumbstruck when their daughter abruptly approached and asked what they were talking about.

Her father, at least with some grace then preceded to inform his daughter that Lupercalia had been essentially cancelled - outlawed would be more correct. Unbeknown to everyday people, the Pope had been trying to do away with pagan practices for years now. Rumors that Lupercalia was going to be banned by Pope Gelasius the first had briefly circulated years ago - but nothing materialized and they were forgotten as fast as they were spread.

Before Octavia could voice her disappointment and anger her mom quickly interjected assuring her that the Feast would still happen. The name was just going to be changed and some of the rituals involved. It would now be celebrated on the fourteenth of February and be called The Feast of Saint Valentine.

The Feast of Saint Valentine? This is going to be a Christian celebration now? Why? And who was Saint Valentine? And Can I still wear my dress? These questions filled Octavia’s mind.

Throughout the day, Octavia learned through her mother who seemed more keen on Christianity than her father, about this Saint Valentine. He had lived over two hundred years ago in a time when anyone who called themselves a Christian was systematically pers...