Valentine's Day
02/14/2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009, Valentine’s Day. My Valentine, my very special Valentine, is fast asleep at 9AM this morning. I can hear a slight snoring coming from the master bedroom, so I can only guess its origin is either The Nancy or the cat. I vote The Nancy!
I don’t ever remember looking to see where this holiday came from or how it got to be. So today I looked in up on Wikipedia, which says:
(Saint) Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine’s cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The day was originally a pagan festival that was renamed after two Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.
The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of “valentines”. Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards.[1] The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain, and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th-century America was a harbinger of the future commercialization of holidays in the United States.
The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas. The association estimates that, in the US, men spend in average twice as much money as women.
So there you have it. Everything you possibly want to know about Valentine’s Day is right here on this page. I suppose the only thing you really need to know, especially if you are married, is to get the card and don’t forget the gift. The gift is the important part, even if you are instructed not to get one. If you are told this, know it is a trap. Buy the gift and stay healthy. The above not withstanding, go out today and enjoy your sweetheart. Spend the day in love, spend it together.
Want to make some real points? Do this in your yard. The gift that keeps on giving.
I wish all of you a day in friendship and love and,
That is all I have to say about that…