So, it's almost Valentine's Day, and like any good little internet junkie, I have been searching photobucket for V-day pictures to share with friends. I suppose in years past, having been married for a long time, I take for granted that I have someone to share the day with. This year is different. This will be my first Valentine's Day as a single person in over 18 years. I know many women in this situation would be dreading the holiday. I am not. I am excited to share the day with good friends. I wish I could have all of my friends and family together for one big hug! Ok, that would be incredibly awkward! Anyway, I was surprised by all the bitter pictures and statements. Although "Single Awareness Day" is really funny, and made be giggle. I thought I would take just a minute to share a few thoughts on the day. I know that Valentine's Day, just like many other holidays has been completely commercialized, but the origins for the day lead back to a time before any Hallmark stores and are really quite romantic. If you do any actual research, you will find that there is a lot of speculation as to whether or not St Valentine ever really existed. Oops. That would make my blog rather anticlimactic, so we're just going to go with the "legend" that I learned as a child and have always told my own children. It may or may not be accurate, like many other things, but it's better than believing that Valentine's Day was made up by the candy or gift card industries. lol Please don your rose colored glasses, and let's move on...
Claudius II (also known as Claudius the Cruel) wanted to build a great and terrible army. He recognized that married men made much less willing soldiers, being concerned with their wives and families. To stem this problem, Claudius II forbade young couples to marry. St Valentine (clearly a romantic rebel) had great empathy for young lovers and chose to marry the couples in secret knowing full well he could be put to death for the act. Word of his kindness spread, and he was responsible for marrying many couples. However, Valentine's services were discovered and he was sentenced to death and locked up. It is said that before he was put to death he was visited by many of the grateful couples. They wrote him letters of their appreciation and threw them into the barred window of his cell. Thus starting the tradition of giving "valentines" He was beheaded on February 14th 271. The execution took place on Rome's Palatine Hill. In A.D. 496, Pope Gelasius I declared February 14th the feast day of Saint Valentine.
For me, this makes Valentine's Day about so much more than just whether or not you have a date for the evening. The first "valentines" weren't delivered to a lover anyway, but to an old man willing to die for love! I think Valentine's day is about celebrating the power of love, the lengths people will go to protect it, and the courage it can sometimes take to express it! Now (if you are still awake ;)) go out and tell all the people you care about that you love them!
Claudius II (also known as Claudius the Cruel) wanted to build a great and terrible army. He recognized that married men made much less willing soldiers, being concerned with their wives and families. To stem this problem, Claudius II forbade young couples to marry. St Valentine (clearly a romantic rebel) had great empathy for young lovers and chose to marry the couples in secret knowing full well he could be put to death for the act. Word of his kindness spread, and he was responsible for marrying many couples. However, Valentine's services were discovered and he was sentenced to death and locked up. It is said that before he was put to death he was visited by many of the grateful couples. They wrote him letters of their appreciation and threw them into the barred window of his cell. Thus starting the tradition of giving "valentines" He was beheaded on February 14th 271. The execution took place on Rome's Palatine Hill. In A.D. 496, Pope Gelasius I declared February 14th the feast day of Saint Valentine.
For me, this makes Valentine's Day about so much more than just whether or not you have a date for the evening. The first "valentines" weren't delivered to a lover anyway, but to an old man willing to die for love! I think Valentine's day is about celebrating the power of love, the lengths people will go to protect it, and the courage it can sometimes take to express it! Now (if you are still awake ;)) go out and tell all the people you care about that you love them!
