Podcast 524: A Valentine's Day Podcast

And now for your edification, a brief history of Valentine’s Day, courtesy ofInfoplease.com: The history of Valentine's Day is obscure, and further clouded by various fanciful legends. The holiday's roots are in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration commemorated annually on February 15. Pope Gelasius I recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day circa 496, declaring February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day. Which St. Valentine this early pope intended to honor remains a mystery: according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there were at least three early Christian saints by that name. Most scholars believe that the St. Valentine of the holiday was a priest who attracted the disfavor of Roman emperor Claudius II around 270. At this stage, the factual ends and the mythic begins. According to one legend, Claudius II had prohibited marriage for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies but was eventually apprehended by the Romans and put to death. Another legend has it that Valentine, imprisoned by Claudius, fell in love with the daughter of his jailer. Before he was executed, he allegedly sent her a letter signed "from your Valentine." Probably the most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not focused on “Eros” (passionate love) but on “agape” (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion. In 1969, the Catholic Church revised its liturgical calendar, removing the feast days of saints whose historical origins were questionable. St. Valentine was one of the casualties. It was not until the 14th century that this Christian feast day became definitively associated with love. According to UCLA medieval scholar Henry Ansgar Kelly, author of Chaucer and the Cult of Saint Valentine, it was Geoffrey Chaucer who first linked St. Valentine's Day with romance. In 1381, Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement between England's  Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. As was the poetic tradition, Chaucer associated the occasion with a feast day. In "The Parliament of Fowls," the royal engagement, the mating season of birds, and St. Valentine's Day are linked: For this was on St. Valentine's Day, When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate. Over the centuries, the holiday evolved, and by the 18th century, gift-giving and exchanging hand-made cards on Valentine's Day had become common in England. Hand-made valentine cards made of lace, ribbons, and featuring cupids and hearts eventually spread to the American colonies. The tradition of Valentine's cards did not become widespread in the United States, however, until the 1850s, when Esther A. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduate and native of Worcester, Mass., began mass-producing them. Today, of course, the holiday has become a booming commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent each year are valentines. The Valentine’s tradition here at Straight No Chaser is to create a mixtape of sorts for you to share with you special someone.  You can find previous mixtapes from2013, 2012, and 2011 on the website along with 2014's selection, Podcast 410 and 2015's Podcast 464. Podcast 524 features the following tunes:  Will Downing - "This Song is For You" Ronnie Laws - "Tonite's the Night" Vince Guaraldi - "It's De-Lovely" John Hollenback - "(They Long to Be) Close to You Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trio - "Theme from 'A Man and a Woman'" Sonny Clark - "Someday My Prince Will Come" George Cables - "Naima's Love Song" Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga - "I Can't Give You ANything But Love" Brian Landrus Trio - "I'm a Fool to Want You" Tord Gustavsen - "The Way You Play My Heart" Charles Lloyd & the Marvels with Norah Jones - "You Are So Beautiful" Gregory Porter - "I Fall in Love Too Easily" Archie Shepp - "My Funny Valentine" Download them all today, and give them as a gift on Sunday!