LUPERCALIA
The Lupercalia was an annual Roman festival held on the fifteenth day before the kalends of March, which would be February 15 in our calendar. The festival was celebrated near the cave of Lupercal, where Romulus and Remus were raised by the she-wolf, but the festival itself pre-dates the founding of Rome.Its origins are thought to be from a small community of shepherds that lived in thatched huts on the Palatine Hill. The festival was one of purification and fertility to herald in the Spring.
During Lupercalia, a dog and two male goats were sacrificed. The high priests, know as Luperci, anointed the foreheads of two young noblemen with the sacrificial blood, which was then wiped off with wool, after which the young men were required to smile and laugh. Then the Luperci, dressed in loincloths, ran around the Palatine Hill, lashing everyone they met with strips of skin from the sacrificed goats. These strips of hide were called Februa (to purify). Girls would line up along the route to receive lashes from these whips. Young wives were particularly eager to receive these blows, because it was believed that the ritual promoted fertility and easy childbirth. These ceremonies were accompanied by much revelry and drinking.
The Lupercalia survived the onset of Christianity but as with all pagan festivals the Church eventually replaced it with a Christian festival, in this case the Purification of the Virgin Mary.
