Page 12 The Blue Banner February 10, 2005 Lifestyle Valentines that rock your world by LoniBenfield Staff Rep(rrter Some people start off Valentine’s Day sitting in front of their win dow. Some people slap each other with goats hide. This all depends on where you are from. Although the exact origination of Valentine’s Day is unknown, peo ple around the world haven’t stopped celebrating it in their own way. The roots of Valentine’s Day are in Chri.stianity and ancient Roman tradition. Some people link Valentines Day back to the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia, Lupercus and Faunus and the founders of Rome, held each year on Feb. 15 to honor the gods. “The lupercal was the cave where a wolf nursed Romulus and Remus,” said Eric Church, UNCA student and self proclaimed ‘pos sessor of useless knowledge’. “According to legend, they were the twins who founded Rome.” The Lupercalia ceremony was a rite of fertility and purification. To begin the ceremony, the people sacrificed a goat and a dog. Then, the men run around slapping the women with strips of the goats’ hide. The people thought that being slapped by the hide increased the woman’s fertility for the year and promoted easy childbirth. “And you thought your family was bizarre,” said Church. Another popular story about the Roman Emperor Claudius 11, he forbade men to marry in order to increase his army. He thought sin gle men made better soldiers than men with families. A priest by the name of Valentine began marrying couples in secret. St. Valentine’s Day is to honor him. The Romans threw Valentine in jail because he wouldn’t worship their gods. The children missed Valentine and would throw loving notes through the bars of his Jail window. This is where some people think the tradition of exchanging notes on Valentine’s Day came from. People in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and t Traditional American gifts, such as flowers and chocolates, are part of many romantic traditions worldwide. Europe are the predominant cele- brators of Valentine’s Day. In both Scotland and Britain, there are festivals where single men and women gather together. Each writes their name on a piece Depending on the ratio of men to of paper and puts it in the hat women, some people get two belonging to their sex. The men names. The rule is that the man and women exchange hats, must stay with the first woman that Everyone draws a name. chooses him. Each man and woman wears their valentine’s name over their heart or on their sleeve. The British exchange anony mous Valentine’s Day notes signed Earth Camp IV " I BY: MAGGIE WEST, SOPHMORE MASS COMMUNICATION STUDENT “Fm sorry Joey, but Mr. Lambert here has already signed a two-year lease on your closet. You will just have to work things out. ” Photo of the Week Need a Summer Job or Internship??? 2005 Summer Employment Fair Tuesday, Feb. 22nd 12-3pm Highsmith Union Alumni Hall Co-Sponsored by the UNCA Caneor Center and Outdoor ProgtaK* Visit our website for a list of this year's participants at www.unca.edu/career Questions? Contact us Phone; (828) 251-6515 RENE TREECE/ STUDENT Want to place an ad in the Blue Banner'! Stop by our office or call us at 251-6586. Iw STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER >1 with dots, one dot for each letter of J name. In Denmark, people send their ftil pressed white flowers called snj drops.

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