💬 Before we had Valentine’s Day, we had a much stranger way of showing love for one another in February. The ancient festival of Lupercalia involved fertility rites, goat sacrifices, public nudity and priests whipping women…

⚡In this episode we explore why the ancient Romans chose to mark the 15th February this way each year - and how Valentine’s Day eventually took over. We also discuss the complicated story of St. Valentine, who may actually be three different people. 

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🎧 Stay tuned to learn about:

➡ How the story of Lupercalia honours the origin story of Rome’s founding

➡ Why St. Valentine may have had nothing to do with love or romance at all

➡ Why spanking and laughter was meant to ward off evil and bad luck

➡ How chocolate giving became so tightly linked to Valentine’s Day

➡ The origin of the heart symbol - and why it looks nothing like an anatomical heart

About the podcast:

What We Did Before is a podcast where we chart the history of modern inventions, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.

About your host:

Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.

Matt Pyle is a lead software developer and tech enthusiast with a keen interest in media, and a love for interesting conversation and learning.

Connect with Ollie:

Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou 

Email: [email protected]