February 14 marks one of the main pagan holidays — Disting. It is a festival of late frosts, dedicated to the victory of the light of the Sun over the dark days of winter. It heralds the awakening of the vital forces that fell asleep during the Winter Night.
It is believed that the earth is preparing to receive new seeds at this time. This period is also called a symbolic time of preparation for future events.
This holiday originated in ancient Sweden, where it was very popular for many years. There, the Disting celebration (in the more familiar Scandinavian version — «Ting dis») was held in the form of a fair in early February.
There is also a version that the origin of the holiday is more connected not with the Winter Nights, but with another holiday mentioned as Disablot. The differences here are regional: the Winter Nights holiday was celebrated in northwestern Scandinavia (in Norway and Iceland), and Disablot — in the east (in Sweden). It hosted something like community events — general fairs, which were obviously the first big gatherings of the year.
Also on this day, family celebrations with the exchange of gifts traditionally took place. Disting Day was considered an appropriate time for wedding vows and weddings.