Lupercalia

American  

[loo-per-key-lee-uh, ‑-keyl-yuh] / ˌlu pərˈkeɪ li ə, ‑ˈkeɪl yə /

noun

plural

Lupercalia, Lupercalias

1. a festival held in ancient Rome on the 15th of February to promote fertility and ward off disasters.

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Lupercalia British  

/ ˌluːpɜːˈkeɪlɪə /

noun

1. an ancient Roman festival of fertility, celebrated annually on Feb 15 See also Saint Valentine's Day

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Other Word Forms

• Lupercalian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Lupercalia

Latin, from Lupercālis belonging to Lupercus, a Roman god of the flocks

Example Sentences

Historians believe that Valentine's Day is rooted in the Roman love and fertility festival, Lupercalia, and was a move by Gelasius I to Christianise pagan traditions.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2025

Lewis also shared with Fox News the story of the pagan celebration Lupercalia.

From Fox News • Feb. 14, 2020

Apparently, they’re celebrating Lupercalia, though their frolic looks a lot more like heavy metal night on the Westside piers.

From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2019

The holiday itself dates back many centuries before then; it is apparently another pagan holiday that Christians attempted to co-opt, by transforming the Roman fertility celebration Lupercalia into St. Valentine’s Day.

From Slate • Feb. 14, 2019

But lest by any chance, while enumerating his numerous exploits, our speech should pass over the finest action of Marcus Antonius, let us come to the Lupercalia.

From The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, Volume 4 by Cicero, Marcus Tullius