Your account of the bizarre Roman festival becoming “Christianized” is off base. The former has nothing to do with St. Valentine’s Day other than one of the days in common. It was a replacement, not another form of Lupercalia. Recall how Christians were brutally martyred at the time and how dangerous it was to be a Christian. Saint Valentine’s Day was established in order to replace the old pagan ways.
If some of the strange pagan marriage and fertility traditions persisted, recall that not everyone converted to Christianity. If those weird rites persisted, it was despite the Church and not because of it.
Your account of the bizarre Roman festival becoming “Christianized” is off base. The former has nothing to do with St. Valentine’s Day other than one of the days in common. It was a replacement, not another form of Lupercalia. Recall how Christians were brutally martyred at the time and how dangerous it was to be a Christian. Saint Valentine’s Day was established in order to replace the old pagan ways.
If some of the strange pagan marriage and fertility traditions persisted, recall that not everyone converted to Christianity. If those weird rites persisted, it was despite the Church and not because of it.