Offering Cakes for March Festivals

A Matronalia Cake

I received an email from a man who wished to celebrate his wife's birthday on 1 March with some of the old traditions from Matronalia, the Feriae Marti and Martisor. Thanks to him, I did some more research on the offerings made during these festivals.

Mars originally was one of the three great gods of the Romans and his birthday was celebrated at the New Year, from 1 March through the 4th. In fact, festivals in honour of Mars were celebrated during most of the month and ended only on 24 March.

An ancient Roman prayer to Mars was: 'Father Mars, I pray and I beseech Thee to be merciful and gracious unto me, and to my house, and to my family. For this, therefore, has the offering been brought through my field, my house, my farm; that Thou might turn away, ward off, remove all sickness, seen and unseen, barrenness, destruction, ruin and untimely influences. Grant good health and strength to me, my house and my family. For this goal, to purify my farm, my land and my ground, and for making expiation, please accept these offerings, Father Mars.'

For this offering, cakes called 'strues' and 'ferta' were given. 'Strues' were 'finger cakes' and it is possible that the sweet biscuits known as 'lady fingers' are the modern equivalent of this ancient offering.

During the first four days of March, the Salii or 'leapers' would carry the shields of Mars in procession through the streets of Rome. Each night at the end of their labours, they would be feasted by a different household. Leaping and the clashing of sword upon shield were characteristics of these processions. It is said that the original shield of Mars fell from heaven. Like many 'stones from heaven', it probably was a meteorite of fair size. The ancillae or shields of Mars were eight-sided. Eight was the number of the Great Goddess Inanna or Ishtar, Queen of Heaven and is the number of Venus, the Morning and Evening Star.

Ovid wrote that celebrations for the birthday of the god Mars included gifts of dates, figs and honey, 'that the year might in sweetness go through the course which it had begun.'

The feast day of Matronalia occurred on the 1st of March as well. This festival was sacred to the Great Mother, Juno. In Ovid's Fasti, the God Mars addressed the poet, declaring that: 'on the hill which now bears the name of Esquiline, a temple was founded, if I remember correctly, on this very day by the Latin matrons in honour of Juno... My mother loves brides. A crowd of mothers throngs my temple. So pious a reason is especially becoming to her and to me. Bring ye flowers to the goddess. This goddess delights in flowering plants... Say, 'Thou, Lucina, has bestowed on us the light of life!' ' This quotation shows how close a relationship existed between Mars and Juno.

On this day were the withered laurels before the temple of Vesta replaced with fresh wreathes and the new Vestal fire rekindled.

On the last day of February in Rome, the 'old Mars' was escorted from the city, a necessary step in order to make way for the birth of the new god Mars on 1 March. In modern Greece, there still are villages where a lame man is named 'February', mounted on a donkey and escorted from the village. Fires are ritually doused on the last night of the month and relit on the morning of 1 March. Ritual washing in morning dew is performed on the 1st of March.

This is similar to the old Eastern European traditions of washing in the snow on the morning of 1 March.

Other rituals involving the death of 'old Mars' or Winter still can be found in different forms. For example, in Poland, there is a ritual in March known as the burning and sinking of 'Marzanna'. This occurs at different dates depending on locality. In Silesia and some regions it occurs on 7 March, but in others as late as the 4th Sunday of Lent, known in Poland as White Sunday, Death Sunday or Black Sunday or on the day of the Vernal Equinox on 21 March.

The Marzanna is a puppet dressed in female garments. Whether the figure is dressed as a man or a woman depends on local custom. In Poland, the 'Marzanna' is a female. A procession is made throughout all the houses in the village with the Marzanna doll bearing a green juniper branch. When night falls, she is escorted from the village accompanied by burning brands of juniper. The doll herself is burned, then flung into the river to be drowned.

This custom in various guises could be found throughout Europe and is described at length in the 'Golden Bough'.

Where food related to these old Roman festivals is concerned, it is interesting to see that many of these customs have survived in the British Isles. For example, in the month of March, there are two traditions derived from the old Roman Matronalia. In reading about Roman offering cakes, I suddenly realised that the old 'similla' cake of ancient Rome is the same cake made for 'Mothering Day' in March. Many may recognise this cake as one that has become a traditional cake for Easter in England but in fact, it is the ancient cake offered to Juno and women on Matronalia.

'Mothering Day' actually may be the old Matronalia itself. In 2007, 'Mothering Day' will fall on the 18th of March. It is said originally to have been a day on which honour was to be paid to the Mother of the Gods, which would make it Matronalia!

'Mothering Sunday' is simply a day for all Mothers now, but in an earlier era, it was the day when apprentices and servants were allowed to have a holiday to perform their filial duty towards their mothers, bringing gifts of Simnel cakes and bouquets of violets and primroses.

A simnel cake actually is the old Matronalia offering cake known as 'similla' for the very fine flour used to make it. The old Roman similla was decorated with twelve balls of almond paste. The modern equivalent uses only 11, ostensibly to represent the 11 apostles who did not betray Christ! Other than that, they appear to be the same cake.

Known as the 'Shrewsbury simnel', the simnel cake is made with white flour, spices and is studded with dried fruits and peel. Covered with sweet almond paste, it traditionally was decorated usually with eleven balls of almond paste. Now, during the Easter season, people often decorate simnel cakes far more lavishly, placing real or artificial flowers or tiny nests filled with eggs or chicks in the centre.
Yellow ribbons often are tied round the cake as well.

A traditional recipe is:

Ingredients:
Almond paste:
400 g. icing sugar, sifted
250 g. ground almonds
1 large egg yolk, beaten lightly
3-4 tablespoonse of orange juice, freshly squeezed
5 drops of almond extract

You can purchase marzipan paste instead if you do not wish to make the almond paste but it is not recommended as it will turn to liquid when heated.

Cake:
250g flour
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
300g currants
300g sultanas
90 g. mixed peel
160g. butter
160g caster sugar
3 large eggs
200 ml milk

Sift flour, salt and spices, then add fruit and peel. Cream butter and sugar thoroughly, then beat eggs into mixture, one by one until fluffy. Stir flour and fruit into the mixture, using milk as needed to moisten it further. It should drop from the spoon when everything has been mixed together.

Placed half of the cake mixture into a round cake tin, then spread half of the almond paste on top. Add the other half of the cake mixture, then bake for 1 1/4 hours in a slow oven at 275F or until fully baked.

When the cake has cooled slightly, cover it with almond paste, keeping enough for the 11 or 12 round balls to decorate the top of the cake. Brush the top of the icing with a little beaten egg yolk then brown under a grill until the almond paste turns golden.

Some recipes include apricots or apricot paste. In order to make the simnel cake more like the ancient Roman offering, I would suggest the substitution of dried figs and apricots for the currants and sultanas used in the modern recipe. Apricots have been associated with immortality and the gods for a long time, and figs always have been considered one of the most magical fruits.

Another culinary tradition for this time of year that can be traced back to neolithic times is the custom of preparing a special soup or stew made of dried peas, lentils or peas mixed with pork or pork bones.

The fifth Sunday in Lent was known as 'Carling Sunday' in Cumbria and other parts of Northern England. On this day, it was the custom to eat a type of pea known as a 'Carling' otherwise reserved for birdseed. The peas are soaked overnight, then brought to a boil and simmered with bacon for at least an hour. In Northumberland, rum and sugar are added. In some places, pubs and private clubs still serve food free on this day.

As Passion Sunday and Palm Sunday have been combined in the new liturgical calendar, Carling Sunday now falls on the 6th Sunday of Lent.

In Nottinghamshire there is an old folk rhyme:

'Care Sunday, Care away
Palm Sunday and Easter Day.'

Another recipe states that the carlings must be soaked overnight in water, boiled well, then fried in butter to be served with vinegar and bread.

Dried beans and lentils always have been traditional winter fare in cultures without refrigeration or the means to acquire fresh vegetables and meat during the winter months. Salted pork would be a means of adding protein and flavour to these legumes. Beyond that, however, the meat or bone represents a 'sacrificial offering' for fertility or the god himself who has died and will be reborn in the Spring. In cases where the bones from the soup are buried in the field when the new seed is sown, the correspondence with ancient sacrifices is very clear.

In fact, 'Carling' soup and Pease Porridge are the same dish. Passion Sunday is called 'Car Sunday' in Scotland, and split pea soup or 'pease porridge' is eaten then.

There is another old rhyme that refers to Lenten repasts:
Pease porridge hot,
Pease porridge cold,
Pease porridge in the pot
Nine days old.'

To make 'pease porridge,' simply soak peas in water overnight, then simmer with fresh vegetables and a ham bone for three hours or so, mashing the vegetables and adding salt and pepper to taste.

In the 'Golden Bough', there are many descriptions of special dishes made from beans, peas and pork with special magical significance at this time of the year.

In England, this special dish had some significance in fortune-telling. By tradition, the person who received the last carling in the dish would be the first to marry.

All times of transition are considered to be times both of great power and great danger. Twilight, the moment between day and night is a time of magical transformations, the 'hour between dog and wolf'. The season of transition between Winter and Spring is another time of transformation. For the ancients, it was a time when life itself hung in the balance and a little weight on one side or another might serve to tilt the universe into chaos. Rituals of purification and offering as well as sympathetic enactments were ways by which the people tried to make certain to maintain the rhythm of the seasons.

I had planned to write about the Hindu festival of Holi today, but will do so on another occasion. Suffice it to say that the festival of Holi, the most riotous and colourful celebration of the year, begins tonight with the lighting of bonfires in the puja for Holi. These fires represent the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness.

Holika Dahan preparations begin 40 days before Holi as people collect wood for the bonfires. Effigies of Holika and Prahlad are placed on the bonfire on the eve of Holi, which is tonight. The next morning, on the actual day of Holi, the ashes are collected and smeared on the body as Holi Prasad.

'Bura na maano Holi hai!'

I remember the celebrations of Holi or Fagu Purnima in Nepal when I was a child. It was a time of great exuberance and excitement. All the girls would scream when balloons filled with coloured water were thrown at them but they only were pretending to be upset. I liked the coloured powders better. When people threw the powders into the air, it was as though the earth were a canvas for a huge painting. Although it is supposed to be a Hindu festival, every one in the village celebrated. Religious affiliation was not taken seriously where festivals were concerned. Every one participated.

In Nepal, Holi was celebrated with a large pole called a 'chir' decorated with cloths of different colours. The pole would be set up eight days before the full moon and burned on the eve of Holi, night of the full moon. Ashes from the cheer were believed to have protective power and would be worn as tika on the forehead.

Happy Martisor!

Although the Dragon of Winter has not been vanquished, by the beginning of March he is loosening his icy grip upon the land. Although this is the season of Lent, there are a few old Northern European cultures that celebrate the herald of Spring in the last days of Winter.

In Eastern Europe, the very ancient festival of Martisor is a joyous celebration of the first signs of rebirth. Martisor can be celebrated throughout the month of March, but usually is perceived as beginning on one of two different days. It either occurs on the 1st day of March or at the full Moon of March, at the last full moon before the Vernal Equinox. This year, the Full Moon falls upon 3 March, and the Martisor Festival will be celebrated in many places on 4 March. In other parts of Eastern Europe, the festival will begin today on the 1st of March.

Martisor primarily is a celebration of life and of the first signs of Spring. It does not take the place of the Vernal Equinox or Easter celebrations when Spring actually has emerged victorious and Winter sleeps once more. The festival of Martisor is known in Romania as 'Martie' which is a diminuative of the name of the month and means 'Little March' or 'Dear little March'.

The most popular symbol of Martisor is a charm or amulet that consists primarily of red and white string intertwined. Originally, a gold or silver coin was tied to the string, but it became customary to substitute any silver-coloured coin or charm. Often other symbols of good luck, such as clover, horseshoes or tiny dolls now are attached to the Martisor necklace. These are given by men and women alike, not only as romantic tokens but as tokens of friendship. Either given on 1 March or on the day of the Full Moon, they then are worn for twelve days or a fortnight for good fortune and fertility for the entire year.

In an old Moldavian tradition, once the Martisor necklace was removed at the end of twelve days, it would be tied into the hair until the first birds of Spring were seen. It then would be placed on the first tree that flowered.

The festival of Martisor is Romanian, although similar festivals are celebrated in other Eastern European countries. Romania, as its name suggests was colonised by the ancient Romans, and the very name of the festival of Martisor is derived from the old Roman god Mars. Mars was the god of war as the son of Jupiter and Juno in later Roman religion, but originally, he was one of the three great gods, and was God of Earth and Spring. He primarily therefore was a chthonic god of Nature.

Reputedly the father of Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome, he was the reason all Romans referred to themselves as the 'sons of Mars'. The 'Feriae Marti', a festival devoted to Mars, was held in Rome on 1 March.

1 March was the New Year for the ancient Romans, whose calendar ran from March to March. In the old calendar, the days of the week and numerical dates would correspond precisely month after month, unlike our current calendar, where dates and days of the week change with each month.

The 1st of March was the day of the festival of Matronalia, the Roman equivalent of Mother's Day. This day was sacred to Juno in her capacity as guardian of mothers and particularly of childbirth: 'Juno who brings children into the light' . Her symbol was the peacock. On 1 March, women would participate in rituals at her temple on Esquiline Hill. This was the only day of the year when woman actually were required to wear their hair loose (unbound) and were not allowed to wear belts or use any knots in their clothing. This form of sympathetic magic is universal and it was believed that thus water would flow freely and childbirth would be easy as well.

This was a festival wherein mothers received gifts from their daughters and husbands would offer special prayers for their wives and present them with gifts.

Women were required on this day to prepare a special banquet for their slaves. (There was a similar requirement for men to prepare meals for the household slaves during Saturnalia.)

Romans brought their beliefs and customs to Eastern Europe when they colonised it but some of the customs of Martisor are even older than ancient Rome. Archaeologists have discovered necklaces over 8,000 years old consisting of pebbles painted red and white alternating on a string. White is the colour of purity, ice and clouds, a symbol therefore of Winter. Red is the colour of fertility, of blood and life, and therefore would represent Spring.

The Dacians worshipped a god named Marsyas Silen, who invented the flute known as the 'shepherd's whistle'. He was an ancient god of vegetation. The old red and white amulet was considered to be a protective symbol for children and livestock, but later became a general talisman given to every one.

Romanian folk traditions for Martisor include the snowdrop, the first herald of Spring in the midst of winter snows. A bouquet of snowdrops given with a Martisor amulet on a Spring postcard is one of the most popular and charming Martisor traditions.

Another interesting amulet of good fortune that is included in Martisors is a black chimney-sweep. This is a very ancient symbol actually. Throughout Europe, the chimney sweep was considered to be especially lucky and touching a chimney sweep on New Year's Day was considered to bring good fortune for the entire year. This old belief still is known in England.

Ashes always have been potent in magic. Sweeping dust from the house as well as ashes from the chimney was a traditional act at year's end. This is the origin of the expression known as 'spring cleaning'. The chimney sweep would be 'black' with the ashes of the old year and thus would be invested with the power of the old year. Ashes always featured in ancient New Year festivals and obviously touching the chimney sweep after he emerged from the chimney was simply a vestige of older rituals considered inappropriate in Christianity.

Throughout Eastern Europe, Martisor amulets are given to every one. Family members exchange them, friends give them as tokens of their friendship and lovers exchange them as 'Valentiines'. Even in the workplace, Martisor charms are given.

There are other old folk traditions of Martisor. It was believed, for example, that a girl should wash her face in the snow on 1 March if she wished to have a perfect complexion for the entire year.

Intertwined red and white wool yarn or string was tied to any flowering tree or bush but in particular, the hawthorn or rose or any fruit tree in an act of sympathetic magic as well as a 'wish' that the earth be fruitful. In placing the string on a rose bush, girls would wish for soft skin and cheeks like red roses. The old fairytale of Snow White and Rose Red is an example of these ancient correspondences.

There is another Martisor custom relating to cheese. In the days when a real silver or gold coin was attached to the Martisor threads, after wearing it for 12 days, an individual would use the coin to purchase sweet white cheese. White cheese symbolised purity and beauty. In fact, this correspondence exists throughout the world. Even in Palestine, a woman who desired a daughter would pray for one with a face as 'round and white as a cheese'. That would be considered the ultimate form of beauty and the name 'Jbene' or 'Cheese' is found as a girl's name in a number of old folktales.

Like most festivals, Martisor has become very commercial in Eastern Europe, but there still are people who make their own Martisor charms to exchange with loved ones. When I first read about the festival, I was enchanted with it, and decided to make a Martisor charm. I twisted red and white yarn together and attached an old silver coin to it. After 12 days, I placed it on our Goddess Tree. I have celebrated the Festival each Spring and it has become a tradition in this house.

Happy Martisor!

Lupercalia and St. Valentine's Day

St. Valentine's Day is a festival that has achieved popularity throughout the world. Although ostensibly a Christian festival in name, like every Western festival, it has its roots in ancient pagan traditions. It is possible that, like Martisor in Rumania, it originally was a feast in preparation and purification for the beginning of Spring (and indeed the New Year) either at the New Moon or on 1 March of the solar calendar.

The lunar New Year usually begins in February. For most ancient cultures, the solar new year began in March.

The Roman festivals that correspond precisely with the date of Valentine's Day are the feast of Lupercalia and a celebration dedicated to the Goddess Juno in her capacity as guardian of women and marriage. The month of February may be named for the 'februa' ('means of purification') the scourges made of skin used during Lupercalia or for Juno Februata, goddess of the 'fever' of love.

The name Lupercalia probably is derived from the Latin word for 'wolf'. The focal point of Lupercalia processions was a cave on the Palatine believed to have been the sacred cave in which Romulus and Remus. twin founders of Rome, were suckled by the she-wolf.

The story of Romulus and Remus is a tale of twin brothers found in myths throughout the world. It begins with a usurper to the throne of Alba Longa. Amulius took the throne from his brother Numitor and forced his niece, only daughter of Numitor, to become a Vestal Virgin. Forbidden to marry, the god Mars nonetheless fell in love with her and she bore twin sons from this union. The usurper, fearing that the children would seek the throne if they were allowed to survive, placed them in a basket and flung the basket into the Tiber.

Instead of drowning according to plan, the basket was found on Palatine Hill by a she-wolf who nurtured the boys with her own milk. A woodpecker, the bird sacred to Mars, fed them as well.

Faustulus, shepherd to the usurper king, later found the twins and adopted them. When they became adults, they did lead an uprising against him, restoring the throne to their grandfather Numitor.

The two brothers then decided to found a city of their own on the Palatine. Remus mocked his brother for building walls so low that he could leap over them easily. In anger, Romulus slew him and proceeded to name the city after himself. This is the mythological history of the foundation of the city of Roma.

In fact, there are a number of universal elements in the tale. The first important element of the tale is the divine intervention in the life of one who is a Virgin or 'untouched'. The issue of such a union often is not accepted by the community. In this case, the children presented a threat to the usurper. The child destined to rule often is concealed in a chest or basket and placed 'on the waters'. In some cases, he is set adrift in the ocean. He then either is discovered and rescued or arrives at the shores of his future kingdom. The Northern king Ing was said to have arrived on the shores of England in a basket, accompanied by a sheaf of grain. Any one who is familiar with the story of Moses or Musa knows of his concealment 'in the bullrushes' in a basket, to be found and adopted by the daughter of the Pharoah.

The tale of the child or children who are suckled by animals is fairly common. In the Nibelungenlied, a she-wolf devours nine of Sigmund's brothers, night after night, but spares him, bravest of all the Volsungs. Sigmund fled with the she-wolf, into the forest, then 'ran with the werewolf', performing wild deeds with his nephew and son, Sinfjotli. In tales like this, the strength and power of the animal are assumed by the 'foster child' and the animal becomes a totem or guardian not only for the child, but for future generations.

The final component of the tale of Romulus and Remus is the sacrifice of one brother by the other. It is probable that this was not an act provoked by anger or mockery but was a ritual sacrifice designed to give protection and blessing to the new city. In fact, in many ancient cultures, a human sacrifice was mandated whenever any new village, bridge or other structure was built. Even in Nepal in the 20th century, human sacrifices were not uncommon whenever a bridge was constructed. Despite official repudiation of the custom, a belief in the efficacy of such a sacrifice persisted.

In any event, the Lupercalia probably had its basis in the tale of the foundation of Roma. It primarily was a feast of purification and fertility (as most festivals in Spring). During the feast, the Luperci priests celebrated a sacred ritual in the cave of Lupercal on the Palatine Hill. Vestal virgins prepared sacred cakes made from the first ears of the harvest of the preceding year. The cakes were named 'mola salsa' (salted cakes). These cakes were set as offerings at a fig tree at the site of the cave. Goats and a dog then were sacrificed. The blood from these animals was smeared on the foreheads of two naked young men and then wiped away with wool dipped in milk. It is possible that the knife used to sacrifice the animals was used to slice the forehead of the young men as an additional act of sacrifice and consecration. When their faces were cleansed of the blood, the young men were required to laugh.

The Luperci and the young men, clothed only in loincloths made from the skins of the sacrificed animals, then ran through the streets, following the pomarium, the sacred boundary of the ancient city and the seven hills. As they ran, they lashed bystanders with strips of skin from the sacrificial goats. These scourges were known as 'februa' or 'Juno's Cloak'. Young wives in particular would strive to receive a blow from these whips on their outstretched hands as it was believed to confer fertility and easy childbirth. Ritual lashings often were included in ancient rituals of purification. In fact, many of the elements found in Lupercalia were part of the old mystery religions known throughout the Roman Empire.

The priests called 'Luperci' were known as the 'Crepi' or 'Creppi' from the word for he-goat. The Festival of Juno Sospita preceded the Lupercalia in January. Juno Sospita or Juno the Saviour was depicted wearing a goatskin, the head and horns of which were drawn over her head. She carried a spear and shield and wore shoes with curled toes. These shoes, like the cap worn by Mithras, are characteristic of the ancient Phrygians.

Another tradition of Lupercalia was the lottery, wherein the names of young maidens were placed in a box, to be drawn out by young men. The couples thus paired performed rituals together to honour the gods throughout the festival.

Of this, Butler, famed for his 'Lives of the Saints' wrote: 'To abolish the heathens lewd superstitious custom of boys drawing the names of girls, in honour of their goddess Februata Juno, on the fifteenth of this month, several zealous pastors substituted the names of saints in billets, given on this day.'

As described, Christianity incorporated some of the old traditions of the season in a new festival when Pope Gelasius, in the year 496, created St. Valentine's Day on 14 February. Instead of a box containing the names of young maidens, the new Christian version of the festival lottery contained the names of Saints. The substitution never proved popular.

The historical basis for the figure of St. Valentine is not entirely certain. Most people tend to believe that he was a Christian who performed marriages under the rule of Emperor Claudius. Claudius had begun to discourage marriage for soldiers as he believed that married men would be less devoted to the Empire than those who were single. There are tales about a man who performed marriages clandestinely. Whether or not this was the reason for Valentine's martyrdom, it is accepted generally that a man named Valentine was 'martyred' in the year 496.

One of the tales surrounding this event involves the blind daughter of the prison guard, cured of her blindness by the intercession of Valentine. A note composed to her before he was dragged away to his execution purportedly stated simply 'From your Valentine'. Whatever the facts, St. Valentine has been the patron saint of lovers now for many centuries, although the practice of sending Valentines on the day probably began in the 15th century.

Imprisoned in the Tower of London, the Duc d'Orleans sent a 'Valentine' to his wife in 1415. This is considered to be the first modern 'Valentine'. In fact, he sent her a number of love letters, now preserved in the British Museum.

The Age of Chivalry was the age of courtly love and it was common for a man to wear a 'favour' belonging to his Leige Lady on his sleeve. In medieval England, the lottery system of Lupercalia was revived in modified form in a custom wherein the names of maidens and young men were drawn out of a box in pairs on 14 February. Gifts were exchanged and the young man accepted the girl chosen for him as his 'Lady' for the year, but only in the sense of courtly traditions. In fact, the original lottery of the Lupercalia was not a sexual alliance but was a pairing made solely for the purpose of the rituals of the festival.

It was not until the 17th century that handmade cards became elaborate and popular. A century later, in 1797, the practice of sending 'Valentines' had become so prevalent that a British publisher issued a book entitled: 'The Young Man's Valentine Writer', containing 'suitable' verses for the romantically-inclined.

'Mechanical Valentines' were produced in limited editions and by the Victorian era, the practice of exchanging Valentines had become quite commercial. Sexually suggestive Valentines caused some countries to ban the practice of exchanging Valentines and in Chicago at the end of the 19th century, the post office rejected as many as 25000 cards as 'unsuitable' to be carried through the U.S. postal service.

The first American to publish Valentine cards was an illustrator named Esther Howland whose father owned a print shop. She made elaborate Valentines from lace that cost as much as thirty-five dollars.

Chocolate became part of the traditions of Valentine's Day much later than cards. The Cadbury Brothers began to manufacture boxes of chocolate in the 1860s. Richard Cadbury produced the first heart-shaped box of chocolate for Valentine's Day in 1870 or thereabouts. The boxes in which chocolate was offered were extremely elaborate, constructed using mirrored glass and velvet. Like many boxes of the period, they were used for storage of trinkets and letters long after the chocolates had been consumed.

The heart is an ancient fertility symbol that may not have represented that organ at all originally, but instead may have been a representation of the buttocks or female genitalia. Like the egg and arrow symbols, the heart with an arrow through it represents the energy of life as well as its container. It is both yin and yang, male and female united in a single icon.

Be that as it may, every child recognises the symbol of a red heart as a symbol of love. Valentine's Day may have been a festival of fertility originally but in contemporary cultures, it has become a festival of love, embracing family and friends as well as lovers.

In our own home, Valentine's Day always was a festival celebrated by the entire family. My mother had remarried when I was six years old. From the very first Valentine's Day in their marriage, our stepfather was careful to include my sister and myself in the celebration.

Our own tradition of the 'Festival Table' dominated St. Valentine's Day as well as other Spring festivals. On the morning of 14 February, my sister and I would awaken with a sense of excitement and anticipation. We would run to the dining room to see what 'magic' had been wrought. My mother always decorated the table, but it was my stepfather who supplied the Valentine's Day gifts.

The table would be set with a festive red cloth and one of the best sets of china. At each individual's place, there would be a beautiful box of chocolate with a card. The box of chocolate would be from our stepfather and the card would be from our mother. If it were not a school day, my mother often would serve a special breakfast. Our boxes of Valentine Day chocolates would be smaller than the one given to our mother, but they nonetheless would be very beautiful. It made us feel very special, and we felt that we were 'women' rather than children on that day.

I do not know if other families did this or not but those exquisite boxes of chocolates remain a vivid part of my childhood memories. Like every other festival, Valentine's Day was a day when the rules could be ignored. We actually could open the box and have a chocolate in the morning before breakfast. In the same way, another family tradition is being able to eat a piece of birthday cake for breakfast on the day after a birthday.

Perhaps Valentine's Day is supposed to be a romantic festival for lovers, but I seldom have experienced any Valentine's Days that have surpassed those childhood celebrations. In those days, my sister and I felt that adult life would bring only more glorious boxes of chocolates and splendid romances in the best traditions of chivalry. One can remember childhood dreams fondly even when reality seldom is quite that romantic.

N.B. It is possible that archaelogists have unearthed the site of the original Lupercal. An article published by AP on 27 January 2007 described an exciting discovery. While restoring the palace of Rome's first emperor on the Palatine, workers taking core samples found a cavity 52 feet deep. Within was a vaulted space decorated with seashells, frescoes and niches. Roman texts declare that the 'Lupercal' was close to the palace of Augustus and the archaeologist in charge of the Palatine believes that this new discovery may indeed be the Lupercal. They now are searching for the entrance to the ancient grotto.