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stoujjville suntribune b saturday feb 10 2007 1 1 w- mfe mm daughter whbvisitctl hi ment before his m fhis confine- ffged that he wrote her a letter which he signed from your valentine an expression that is still in use today although the truth behind the valentine legends is murky the stories certainly empha size his appeal as a sympathetic heroic and most importantly romantic figure its no sur prise that by the middle ages valentine was one of the most popular saints in england and france while some believe that valentines day is celebrated in the middle of february to com memorate the anniversary of valentines death or burial which probably occurred around 270 ad others claim that the christian church may have decid ed to celebrate valentines feast day in the middle of february in an effort to christianize celebrations of the pagan lupercalia festival in ancient rome february was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purifica tion houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interi ors lupercalia which began at the ides of february february 15 was a fertility festival dedicated to faunus the roman god of agricul ture as well as to the roman founders romulus and remus to begin the festival members of the luperci an order of roman priests would gather at the sacred cave where the infants romulus and remus the founders of rome were believed to have been cared for by a shewolf or lupa the priests would then sacrifice a goat for fertility and a dog for purification the boys then sliced the goats hide into strips dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips far from being fearful roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year later in the day according to legend all the young women in the city would place miuheir names dn a big urn the citys bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman these matches often ended in marriage pope gelasius declared february 14 st valentines day around 498 ad the roman lottery system for romantic pairing was deemed un christian and outlawed later dur- ing thejmiddle ages it was commonly believed in france and england that february 14 was the beginning of bin ori which added to the idea that the middle of february valentines day should be a day for romance the oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by charles duke of orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the tower of london following his capture at the battle of agincourt the greeting which was written in 1415 is part of the manuscript collection of the british library in london england several years later it is believed that king henry v hired a writer named john lydgate to compose a valentine note to catherine of valois gifts for all ages always made fresh istlprmlsejs- give them the s jv taste- beyond compare special extended valentine hours feb 10th to 13th- 10am to 6pm feb 14lh 9am to fpm thereafter tues lo thur haiti lo 5pth frisat- 10am to 6pm 14811 9th line stouffville ml 905 6408089 wwvcharlindaxii hansons family restaurant chinese italian you are cordially invited to join us in our elegantly decorated dining room for our 20 anniven to fill the nfilenttne tsfif dinein or takeout mmna sksffc- reservations i abri 3k fill fi6ut uiimtiaiii atofiss p- we rave the facilities to make your feel very special miniate 1ftp with any purchase of a iift certifier a rveda gift basi aroducts for more information visit usat wwwfamesalonspacom stouffville plaza 9056402299 5892 main street stouffville ontario mon tues wed thur fri sat 9am6pm 9am9pm 9am9pm 9am9pm 9am6pm 9am6pm sbitssl the lion of stouffville invites you to join us for wednesday februaiy 14 enjoy our special valentines menu in a warm relaxed dining atmosphere regular menu also available call for reservations today 5917 main st stouffville 905642 i 344