How Valentine's Day Started with Naked Ladies and Dead Animals

It is time for my annual Valentine's Day Post.  This is my favorite post of the year because Valentine's Days origins are so interesting.  I hope you all have a happy Valentine's Day!

My favorite thing about holidays are their bizarre origins.  Most of our modern celebrations have roots in old pagan traditions.  Valantine's Day is no different.  Its pagan roots are just more bizarre than most. They are so strange I like to write about them every year.  I know it is slightly off topic, but naked people being flogged with animal hides is worth discussing in any forum. Apparently the ancient roots of Valentine's Day begins with the Romans. The Romans celebrated Lupercalia from Feb. 13 to 15. In Roman mythology Lupercus was the equivalent of the Greek god Pan who was known to be a sexy sort of fellow who promoted fertility. His holiday was a somewhat romantic kind of celebration. During Lupercalia the men would sacrifice a goat and a dog and then whip women with the hides of the dead animals. The women would line up naked in order to be whipped. They did this because they believed this ritual would make them more fertile. Afterwards, there would be lottery in which men and women would be paired up for a night of naked fun.


I know, you are now wishing we still celebrated Valentine's day this way. Enough with the cheesy cards. Where are the dead animals, whippings, and naked people? It was the Catholic Church that ruined the fun. Emperor Claudius II killed two Valentine's in different years of February 14th. Both men were martyred and the day derives its name from these two martyred saints. In the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I got confused and merged the two martyrs into one person and named February 14th after them. He also absorbed the romantic traditions of Lupercalia into the day in order to soften the pagan debauchery and retake the day for Christianity. Christianity has a long history of doing this type of thing. Christmas was taken from Roman Saturnalia traditions and Norse Yule traditions. By absorbing pagan holidays rather than forbidding them, ancient Christians were able to gain new followers rather than lose them.

Chaucer and Shakespeare can be credited with further romanticizing St. Valentine's day and turning it into the romantic, kissy holiday it is today, but I will always think back to better days when women ran naked through the streets being beaten with dead animals.

Texas Hunger Games....I mean, Bar Exam

As the days run out, all I can think about is how I'm surely approaching my doom. Which gives rise to some excellent quotes from The Hunger Games:

"Stupid people are dangerous." 

"Here's some advice: stay alive." 

"Aim higher, in case you fall short." 

At any rate, hope you enjoy my little piece of "sunshine," just in time for the Texas Hunger Games Bar Exam. 

"Tick, tock."

Doña Juana Rodriguez Street Haunted House

The Doña Juana Rodriguez Street is located at New Manila, Quezon City. It was the old name of Broadway Avenue (near the building of Broadway Centrum - GMA).

I don't have enough time to research and go to National Library to confirm if the author tells the truth about the article of Daily Express. I cannot say the story is real, because me, myself, haven't gone on the said location. By the way, the

The Whole Story

The Doña Juana Rodriguez St. ProjectBy: Anonymous I first heard this true-to-life ghost from my professor who ran out of lessons to teach one sleepy afternoon. It was about this saleslady - let's call her Mrs. Santos - during the Seventies who was into direct-selling Tupperware products, something new in te kitchenware market at the time. At the end of the demonstration she conducted in Laguna, a middle-aged gentleman, who looked like an important businessman - sort of like a Jaime Zobel de Ayala or a John Robert Sobrepena - approached her. The guy - let's call him Mr. Cruz - invited her to do another demonstration in a house along Dona Juana Rodriguez in New Manila, Quezon City. Charmed by the man's courtly demeanor, the saleslady accepted the invitation and went the following week to the address given. It was a lazy Saturday mid-afternoon and very few vehicles were passing by in front of the mansion. In the front yard stood an old, balding man in a white undershirt, sweeping away the dead leaves. When he saw her, the old man, who was probably the caretaker readily invited her inside. The interior of the mansion exuded a certain Old World charm, something seen in period movies like The Sound of Music or Gone with the Wind. She was ushered into the sala and was told to wait for Mr. Cruz. Mrs. Santos proceeded to see out all the Tupperware items she had brought with her. By the time she had finished, Mr. Cruz still hadn't arrived. She decided to pass the time by reading some of the reading some of the magazines. Oddly enough, she couldn't recognize any of the faces featured on the covers. Glancing at the dates, she saw they were all dated in the 1930's. Suddenly, she heard voices coming from upstairs - animated conversation, punctuated by laughter here and there. When she looked up, Mr. Cruz, together with several men and women similar to his age and bearing, were coming down the stairs. Mr. Cruz introduced her to his friends, who were all wearing gray suits. Some of the men were in gray coats and ties, some in gray barongs and pants - even their shoes and handkerchiefs were gray. The women were in gray skirts and long gowns. Mrs. Santos didn't pay particular attention to their attires, surmising that perhaps it was a gathering of an upper-class club or organization and such "uniform" were required. Mrs. Santos introduced the Tupperware products and everybody seemed excited and pledge to order some items. After her demonstration, someone turned on the turntable and played old tunes, probably Bing Crosby classics. Then someone brought out some food and wine and a party began. Mrs. Santos was invited to stay for the party. She declined, saying it was getting dark,but did drink a little of the wine. Mrs. Santos went home happy and tipsy that day. She stayed the night with a 60-year old aunt who lived in Malate. Mrs. Santos told her aunt about her rich, elegant but weird clients. The aunt was surprised when she mentioned the names of Mr. Cruz and his friends. Apparently, her aunt knew them all by name and reputation. Yes, they were all celebrities and elegantly rich! Some of them were famous artist, musicians and socialites. The only thing was, her aunt had watched and read about them during her college days, decade ago. As a matter of fact, these people had been dead for a long time. Many of them didn't survive the Second World War! Mrs. Santos was too stunned to speak. To think that she even danced a tune or two with them and tasted some wine! A few months after, Mrs. Santos decided to write about her experience and have it published in the Sunday edition of the Daily Express. It came out in the second week of December 1972. When my professor read the article, he tried to find out the truth behind the story. He asked his students (at the time, he was teaching the high school students of San Beda College), to visit the mansion in New Manila with him - as a sort of adventure. So, together with a dozen of his students, my professor went to the house one Saturday morning. To their surprise, an old man identical to that described in the Express story was there in front yard, doing much the same thing that the old man in the story was doing - sweeping away the dead leaves. My professor made some pretext about the needing to interview Mr. Cruz about the old houses. The old man ushered them all inside, and there they found everything as described in the 70's article. Even the old magazine were there, bearing the same dates. The old man told them to wait as he climbed the long staircase to inform Mr. Cruz about the group. What happened next? Well, the group didn't wait around to find out as they sped out of the mansion as fast as their feet could carry them. When I asked the professor whether the story was true or not, he dared me to find out myself. He gave me the exact location of the house, which was some blocks away from the Broadway Centrum. So one Sunday morning, I decided to see for myself. Trudging up Doña Juana Rodrguez Street, i noticed some old houses but saw no sign of the old man. Reporting back to my professor, I suggested that after 20 years, somebody might have bought the property and turned it into one of those townhouse complexes. Probably, he said. He didn't care because after the horrifying incident he never went back there. Even at the height of traffic in the area, he always made it a point to avoid the street. As for myself, I can only report his strange incident that happened after I visited the street: One Monday morning I checked out the National Library for old copies of the Sunday Daily Express magazine. To my surprise, I discovered that all the copies of the December 1972 issues were there - except for the issue that came out on the second week. The librarian, who has been working there for decades, was also puzzled. Coincidence? Somehow, I think not.

Source:
True Philippine Ghost Stories. Book 12. PSICOM Publishing Inc.

Sad, but true....

The problem with having a law license in one jurisdiction while taking the bar exam in another....

Oh? You don't think I'm smart enough to practice in your state?

Motivation....lacking. 

This is your brain, bar exam style...

I'm pretty sure this is self-explanatory. 

(Pray to the merciful 6 lb, 8 oz. baby lord Jesus for my everloving soul....)

Would YOU willingly vacay in BEL?

It's crunch time in BarExamLand, the magical place where unicorns and rainbows go to die. 

Incidentally, that's where my soul has also gone to die. 

But it could be worse...I could be taking the bar exam in Louisiana....which started THIS WEEK.

Kuntilanak: The Monstrous Ghosts of Those Who Die in Childbirth

The Kuntilanak is an extraordinarily malevolent spirit found in Malaysian folklore.  A Kuntilanak is the ghost of a pregnant woman who died in childbirth or died from complications resulting from pregnancy.  The Malaysian word  for a Kuntilanak is Pontijanak which means pregnant.  Kuntilanaks are usually seen either crying or laughing hysterically.  They are often found in old buildings and  and are sometimes said to kidnap and devour small children.  

The Kuntilanak usually appears as a beautiful young woman and this makes her more beguiling to her potential victims.  The smell of fragrant flowers follow them wherever they go.  They use their many charms to seduce men and they are often found by unscrupulous men looking for a good time.  Men find them wandering the side of the road and when the men pick the ghost up the men are rarely heard from again.   The Kuntilanak  also enjoy harming pregnant women and causing miscarriages.  Pregnant women are most vulnerable to Kuntilanak when they are traveling and the only way a pregnant woman can protect herself is to carry nails or scissors with her at all times. If the nail or scissors are driven into the base of the Kuntilanak's skull and left there it will drive the evil from the ghost and she will become a woman again until the nail is removed.

Ever the friendly ghost, when the Kuntilanak kills its victims it usually digs its fingernails into its victim's stomach and pulls out their intended's guts and gorges herself on them.  In the case of men, the kuntilanak often pulls off the genitals, the source of her unfortunate pregnancy and death, and devours those first.  Some argue the kuntilanak is more of a vampire than a ghost because it must feed on the living to continue its preternatural existence, but the images and stories of visitations of Kuntilanak's are more consistent with ghost stories than vampire stories.  Either way,  if you run into a lonely woman crying on the road or wailing like a baby it is probably best to carry a few nails with you because the kuntilanak sounds like a horrific ghost to encounter.  As someone whose been through a terrible childbirth experience,  I can understand where these nasty pregnant ghosts are coming from.  I certainly wanted to rip out someones guts halfway through my labor.