By Maria Lopes, published July 1st, 2022
Valentine’s Day is something that’s been celebrated for decades, and Alpha ran some events this year so that we could all celebrate it together. But before we get into those events, let us talk about where Valentine’s Day comes from.
This is a very popular theory since no one knows exactly where it came from, but this story is way more tragic than most of us would expect. It all started with the ancient Romans when peasants had a festival called Lupercalia, a celebration of purification and fertility held on the 15th of February. But this festival wasn’t what one would expect of something that originated our Valentine’s Day full of love and romance. Instead, it was a violent, bloody, and “sexually charged celebration awash with animal sacrifice, random matchmaking and coupling in the hopes of warding off evil spirits and infertility.” As quotes a website. But how did we go from this bloody and violent “celebration” to the Valentine’s Day we know today? This is debated amongst scholars, but one of the reasons they believe is because Lupercalia is directly connected with Lupercus, the Roman fertility god. There are many other theories as to how it originated such as the one related to Pope Gelasius I, which I won't go into.
The events that Alpha has run this year were interesting. We had Cupids for Charity by Student Council, which asked teachers to choose a charity and set up jars for donations in the foyer, the winner having to dress up as Cupid and all donations go to their charity! This year the winner was Mr. Rockwell, and the charity he chose was Covenant House! This was a great way to raise money for charities and we all had some fun while doing it. Mr. Rockwell dressed up as Cupid on Friday the 18th of February.
The next thing I want to mention, which isn’t an event but I believe deserves some appreciation, is the decorations that Visual Arts Council made for our school. We saw heart /regular chains, little hearts and so many other adorable things all around the school.
Another event that was held was the Valentines' Grams. There were really cute packs for you to send to someone, with roses, chocolates and handwritten notes! I think Alpha celebrated Valentine’s Day amazingly and I’m waiting to see what we will come up with next year! What do you think we could add?