{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The Note Pad | Stationery &amp; Party Etiquette Blog by American Stationery","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.americanstationery.com\/blog","author_name":"admin","author_url":"https:\/\/www.americanstationery.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/","title":"The Origins of Valentine's Day","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanstationery.com\/blog\/the-origins-of-valentines-day\/\">The Origins of Valentine&#8217;s Day<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script type='text\/javascript'>\n<!--\/\/--><![CDATA[\/\/><!--\n\t\t\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n\t\t!function(d,l){\"use strict\";var e=!1,n=!1;if(l.querySelector)if(d.addEventListener)e=!0;if(d.wp=d.wp||{},!d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage)if(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(t)if(t.secret||t.message||t.value)if(!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var r,i,a,s=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),n=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),c=0;c<n.length;c++)n[c].style.display=\"none\";for(c=0;c<s.length;c++)if(r=s[c],e.source===r.contentWindow){if(r.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message){if(1e3<(a=parseInt(t.value,10)))a=1e3;else if(~~a<200)a=200;r.height=a}if(\"link\"===t.message)if(i=l.createElement(\"a\"),a=l.createElement(\"a\"),i.href=r.getAttribute(\"src\"),a.href=t.value,o.test(a.protocol))if(a.host===i.host)if(l.activeElement===r)d.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",t,!1),d.addEventListener(\"load\",t,!1);function t(){if(!n){n=!0;for(var e,t,r=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf(\"MSIE 10\"),i=!!navigator.userAgent.match(\/Trident.*rv:11\\.\/),a=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),s=0;s<a.length;s++){if(!(e=a[s]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))t=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t);if(r||i)(t=e.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute(\"security\"),e.parentNode.replaceChild(t,e)}}}}(window,document);\n\/\/--><!]]>\n<\/script><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.americanstationery.com\/blog\/the-origins-of-valentines-day\/embed\/\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;The Origins of Valentine&#8217;s Day&#8221; &#8212; The Note Pad | Stationery &amp; Party Etiquette Blog by American Stationery\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe>","description":"The origins of Valentine&#8217;s Day trace back to the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia. Held on February 15, Lupercalia honored the gods Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus. In addition to a bountiful feast, Lupercalia festivities are purported to have included the pairing of young women and men. Men would draw women&#8217;s names from a box, and each couple would be paired until next year&#8217;s celebration. From Feb. 13 to 15, the men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.\u00a0 Young women would actually line up for the men to hit them, Lenski says. They believed this would make them fertile. While this pairing of couples set the tone for today&#8217;s holiday, it wasn&#8217;t called &#8220;Valentine&#8217;s Day&#8221; until a priest named Valentine came along. Valentine, a romantic at heart, disobeyed Emperor Claudius II&#8217;s decree that soldiers remain bachelors. Claudius handed down this decree believing that soldiers would be distracted and unable to concentrate on fighting if they were married or engaged. Valentine defied the emperor and secretly...Read More"}