Aren’t holidays wonderful?
They help us to reconnect with our friends and family and to remember what we sometimes start to take for granted or have just forgotten in our busy lives. I truly love all holidays and love to mark special occasions with a celebration; large or small.
St Valentine?
So, who was Valentine? Well, I have no exact answer, but I have found lots of opinions from around the world. Wikipedia states that there were two Christian martyrs named Valentine, and another site states that there may have been three Valentines.
According to the many sites, he was a holy priest in Rome who assisted martyrs under Claudius II. He was beaten and beheaded on 14 February; not a very romantic person at all. However on another website it was said that while he was in prison he sent messages saying, “I love you” and “From your Valentine”. In another story it is said that Valentine was a priest who secretly married couples, defying the law of Emperor Claudius which forbid marriage of single soldiers.
Valentine Cards
In the Middle Ages, people began to send love letters on Valentine's Day. Early Valentine cards were handmade and four types are mentioned on the ‘how stuff works’ website. These included: pinpricks (with holes made by pins to resemble lace), cutouts (made by fold and cutting a lace design), acrostic (where the first letters in the lines of the verse spelled out the beloved's name) and rebus (where pictures replaced some of the words).
Then the exchange of commercial Valentine cards may have begun in the 1840’s. Anyway February 14th has been the day to honour LOVE, usually the romantic type.
When I was in primary school we all bought or made Valentines for each person in our class. We were very careful to find or write the appropriate words for each person. These Valentines were deposited in bags or boxes near each student’s desk, and then were opened at the end of the day during a small party with refreshments.
Some cards weren’t signed and it was fun to guess who had written them. Today there are a number of websites containing free online e-Valentines or patterns for making your own. It’s not too late to send one to a special friend!
Too commercial?
Valentines Day, like many other holidays, has grown commercially and now many people buy flowers or chocolates for their loved one, and others go out to a romantic dinner.
But what about just doing something special for the person (people) you love. Some extra kind words are always nice or make dinner special by adding candles and taking more care with setting the table with perhaps a nice table decoration. I have a wooden structure with red hearts hanging from it, and it always makes me feel good at Christmas and on Valentines Day. What about giving gift coupons that you write yourself: “good for 1 hour of my time”, “good for 1 hug”, or “good for one game of croquet”.
Should we celebrate 14 February?
So, should we celebrate Valentine's Day? Of course! Just because we're not quite sure who Valentine was, we certainly know that the idea of love, even romantic love, is so important in our world today.
Let's try to make Valentine's Day an extra special day by displaying even more love than usual to those around us.
Useful Websites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day
http://people.howstuffworks.com/valentine1.htm
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/golden169.htm
http://www.kidsturncentral.com/holidays/valentines.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment