In many countries, Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14th. Lovers congratulate each other, confess their feelings, give gifts, and arrange romantic dates. Since the 90s of the last century, Russia also began to celebrate Valentine's Day. Where did the holiday come from, how do Russians celebrate it, what traditions and customs accompany February 14 - you will find answers to these and other questions in our article. We will also talk about the Russian Valentine's Day, which is celebrated on another day - July 8th.
When is Valentine's Day celebrated in Russia by Orthodox believers?
Orthodoxy, like Catholicism, has its own patrons of love. And these are Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom . In the church calendar, the day of remembrance of the righteous couple, who were able to carry love for each other through many trials, is July 8. The holiday is called the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity, and its meaning is a little different from that of Valentine's Day.
The Catholic saint patronizes everyone who experiences tender feelings, mutual and unrequited. This day is perfect for confessing to that person about whose love the other person has been silent for a long time. The celebration is celebrated by both couples in love and single people who have not yet met their soulmate.
Russian Valentine's Day is dedicated to those who are in a serious relationship. Peter and Fevronia patronize those couples who have already created or are planning to start a family. The celebration is intended to remind spouses of the importance of feelings for each other in order to preserve the created union. And we are talking here not only about love, but also about respect for each other, about honesty, about loyalty and self-sacrifice.
Many Russians consider February 14, Valentine's Day , and July 8, Peter and Fevronia Day, to be the Day of Love. At the same time, it is worth remembering that in order to show feelings for your soulmate, you should not wait for a special date on the calendar of church or folk holidays.
Valentine's Day - the history of the holiday
Valentine's Day is a romantic and very beautiful holiday, and the history of its appearance is connected with the priest Valentine, who in the West is considered the patron saint of couples in love. The priest was born in an Italian city near Rome, at the beginning of our era. Valentine was a bishop in the Christian church, but in addition to serving God, he was also involved in natural sciences and medical practice. According to some sources, Valentin tried most of all to help lovers: he suggested how best to write a tender declaration of love, tried to reconcile quarreling couples, and supported them in the event of trouble.
In those days, the Roman emperor issued a decree according to which legionnaires did not have the right to create families. This was done so that young people would devote themselves entirely to military duty and not be distracted by romantic relationships. Valentine secretly married Roman legionnaires to his beloved girls. Emperor Claudius II, having learned about this, ordered the clergyman to be thrown into a dungeon and put to death.
Valentin's last days are shrouded in mystery, but there is a beautiful legend in which the blind daughter of a prison servant fell in love with a priest. The night before his execution, Valentin wrote a touching, tender message to the girl, in which he confessed his feelings. On February 14, Valentin was executed, and the blind girl, having received the letter, regained her sight. It is believed that the tradition of writing about your feelings on Valentine cards originates from this legend.
When did Valentine's Day appear in Russia? At the end of the last century, our country also began to celebrate February 14th. On this day, theme parties were held in clubs and cafes, and lovers began to give each other romantic gifts.
How is Valentine's Day celebrated in Russia?
In many nightclubs and restaurants, the holiday is celebrated on a grand scale: the room is decorated with hearts and balloons, heart-shaped snacks and desserts are served, aphrodisiac dishes are on the menu, competitions are held to choose the best couple.
The main traditions for Valentine's Day have reached us. Couples in love exchange romantic gifts, spend the whole day together, and have a romantic dinner in the evening. On February 14, it is customary to give a loved one a Valentine card - a heart-shaped card with a declaration of one’s feelings.
On a note! Many couples dream of getting married on Valentine's Day. It is believed that a married couple who began their family history on February 14 will live into old age in love and harmony.
How is the holiday celebrated in other countries?
- On February 14, Americans give marzipan sweets, which in this country are considered an exquisite, expensive dessert.
- In Japan, the holiday is considered more masculine, so basically, the stronger half receives gifts and recognition. According to tradition, the Japanese give chocolate on Valentine's Day.
- French women receive jewelry on February 14th.
- Unmarried English women wake up at sunrise, look out the window and wait for the first passerby. It is believed that this will be the betrothed for a single girl.
On Valentine's Day, it is customary to exchange valentines and memorable gifts.
When did the Slavs celebrate Valentine's Day?
The Slavs also celebrated Valentine's Day on July 8th. Only later did it become the Day of Saints Peter and Fevronia. As in many cases, the church calendar “adjusts” to the beliefs of the people who voluntarily adopted Christianity.
July 8 was considered a special day among the Slavs, since it comes after July 7, the holiday of Ivan Kupala. On Kupala, young girls and boys could find a partner during mass festivities associated with the worship of the forces of nature. And on July 8, many of them woke up no longer lonely people.
On Ivan Kupala, formed couples jumped over the fire so that their feelings for each other would not cool down. And the next day, July 8, they could fully feel the inspiration received in each other’s company, the confidence that they wanted to live with this person for the rest of their lives.
Officially, July 8 was not Valentine’s Day among the Slavs, but the day was, to one degree or another, dedicated to the impressions received at Kupala. The lovers, who had confessed their feelings to each other the day before, spent time together. And those who had not yet met love were filled with faith about a quick “date”, because wreaths were floating on the water on Ivan Kupala, which should show the way for the betrothed.
Folk signs on the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity
In ancient times, on holiday, wives allowed their spouses to go fishing without fear. It was believed that mermaids living in reservoirs swam out to sea at this time. It was customary for spouses to work together on July 8th. Peter and Fevronia Day was celebrated at the height of haymaking. Therefore, the joint work of the spouses promised prosperity.
Nowadays, this sign can also be used. It is useful for a husband and wife to work together to clean the house, renovate their home, or simply work at the same company. In ancient times, on July 8, unmarried girls bewitched boys. To do this, they read conspiracies, turning their faces to the south.
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Children were always given active games, of course, in the fresh air, which is now very rare. Modern children prefer gadgets to live communication. However, if you still want to introduce them to active games outside, try our selection.
Pagan Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day in Catholicism, like the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity in Orthodoxy, “occupies” the date of a pagan holiday, which was very revered in Rome before the development of Christianity.
It was on February 14 that the so-called holiday of Lupercalia was celebrated in honor of the god Faun, who was also called Luperk. In Ancient Rome, from February 13 to 15, about love. During the holiday, real orgies could be found right on the streets of settlements, since all moral and social prohibitions actually did not work on these days.
Traditionally, these days, men were allowed to become sophisticated in their cruelty towards women. They were allowed all sorts of outrages if they could be justified by the passion they felt for the lady. It was allowed to steal other people’s wives “for a while,” deprive daughters of honor, and the like.
The main ritual of the holiday was flogging with a whip. Women were beaten with particular cruelty, so that later it would be easier for them to give birth to healthy heirs to the brave warriors of Rome.
Why are Peter and Fevronia considered patrons of marriage?
Information about the saints comes from the “Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom,” which was compiled in the mid-16th century by the monk Ermolai the Prehreshny , commissioned by Metropolitan Macarius. This monument of ancient Russian literature was created in connection with the canonization of Peter and Fevronia at the Moscow Church Council in 1547, and is based on Murom oral traditions.
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According to the legend, the Blessed Prince Peter was the second son of the Murom Prince Yuri Vladimirovich. He ascended the Murom throne in 1203. A few years earlier, Peter killed the fiery serpent. In place of traces of the serpent's blood that fell on Peter's body, ulcers formed; the future prince fell ill with terrible leprosy, which no one could cure. One day Peter had a dream in which it was revealed to him that the beekeeper’s daughter, a peasant woman from the village of Laskovo in the Ryazan land named Fevronia, could heal him. The prince found the girl, and she cured him.
After this, Peter married the girl, but the local boyars refused to recognize the princess as a commoner. They set a condition for Peter: either leave his wife or renounce his reign. The prince could not leave Fevronia and went into exile with her. After this, unrest began in Murom, and the boyars themselves asked Peter to return and continue his reign. The prince restored order in the city, and Fevronia was eventually able to earn the love of its inhabitants.
The princely couple led a righteous life, and in old age they took monastic vows with the names David and Euphrosyne. They prayed to God to die on the same day and bequeathed to put their bodies in one coffin. On July 8 (according to the old style - June 25), 1228, Peter and Fevronia died at the same hour, each in his own cell. Their bodies were placed in different monasteries, since burial in the same coffin was impossible due to their monastic status. But, as the legend goes, a miracle happened: the next day their bodies were found lying in the same coffin. Peter and Fevronia were buried in Murom, in the cathedral church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Legends about the miracles of the Murom prince and his wife were very popular and were passed down from generation to generation, and the saints themselves began to be revered as patrons of the family.
Peter and Fevronia of Murom. Photo: Public Domain
Some researchers identify Peter and Fevronia with Prince David Yuryevich, who ruled in Murom from 1205 to 1228, and his wife Euphrosyne . According to the chronicles, David took monastic vows with the name Peter.
As celebrated around the world
In England, on February 14, men present gloves to the girls they like; such a unique gift speaks of passionate desire. Residents of Wales give their loved ones wooden spoons with a key and a heart carved on them.
In romantic France, girls can safely expect to receive jewelry or an expensive watch from their gentleman with the obligatory “Valentine”.
Italians prefer to give sweets on this day: chocolate, chocolate-covered hazelnuts with notes inside.
Hot Spanish machos present red roses to their senoritas. In return, the girls give books or other things, but always red.
In the USA and Australia, on this day it is customary to book a table in restaurants and give flowers and edible “Valentines” to your loved ones.
Korean and Japanese girls were unlucky that day. February 14 in the “Land of Morning Freshness” and “Land of the Rising Sun” is considered only a holiday for men. On this day, it is customary for guys to give chocolate or chocolate candies. And not only to lovers, but also to friends and colleagues.
What date will it be
The official date of the celebration is July 8.
The date was not chosen by chance; according to the old style it is June 25, the day of remembrance of the canonized saints of the land of Murom Peter and Fevronia. The holiday is secular, although it includes ancient Slavic and Orthodox traditions. According to current legislation, the date is not movable, but the day is not a day off. On a note!
In 2021, a group of deputies from the LDPR brought up for discussion in the relevant State Duma committee the issue of declaring the holiday a day off. But the bill was rejected.
The organizing committee established a holiday medal, which is awarded at the regional and federal levels to married couples who have lived together for a quarter of a century or more and raised worthy children. On the medal there is an image of Murom saints and the symbol of the holiday - a meadow chamomile flower. If the day of the holiday falls on a weekday, then the concert program is planned for the weekend closest to the date. For example, last year July 8 fell on a Monday, and the main events took place on July 6-7. This year, Murom authorities are in “standby mode” due to the coronavirus pandemic; holding the holiday depends on the epidemiological situation.
Option two: creativity and drive
For those who don’t want old-fashioned classics and are looking for something active for Valentine’s Day in Russia, you can suggest going to a concert of your favorite artist, a walk on the rooftops, or getting together in a group and taking part in a quest. As an option, for one day you can “relapse into childhood” and go to children’s attractions. Riding on cars, bungee jumping, and playing slot machines will charge you with positivity for a long time and will definitely be remembered.
