How February got its name

Dating back to the ancient Romans, a feast of Lupercalia was held from the 13th of February to the 15th. The Lupercalia was an ancient fertility festival observed annually to purify the city, promoting health and fertility. The festival featured sacrifices, whippings, and possible nudity (or, at the very least, less clothing than people would wear on a normal day). Though we don’t know exactly what Lupercalia was for, historical accounts suggest it had to do with stimulating pastoral prosperity (the keeping and grazing of sheep) and fertility through purification rituals.

The festival known also as Februa, or dies Februatus (day of February), believed that purification made way for fertility and creativity. 

Februare is Latin for “to purify,” and februum describes a means of purification or an instrument used to purify. In short, February was the month of purification. 

Purification Rituals

To mark the occasion Roman men sacrificed goats before using their skins to whip women in the belief that this would make them fertile (Sexy right? Want to try this yourself? Shop our very chic leather flogger here, or faux leather here.)

Houses were also purified with “roasted grain and salt,” land was purified with strips of animal hide and priests wore crowns made of leaves from pure trees.