Many people see Valentine's Day as an overrated holiday that has become way too commercialized by Hallmark and the like. And to be quite honest, that is fairly well true, especially today when everything seems corrupted by commercialization and big companies (i.e., presidential races & super pacs?). Yet somehow still I love and hate the idea of Valentine's Day. I love it because there is pink stuff everywhere and god I love anything that is pink and/or glittery. I hate it because it reminds me of the fact that I'm still not dating anyone seriously and it is an incredibly awkward time for casual daters! That is why I am celebrating the holiday with my best single friend, Melanie. We are going to watch cheesy chick-flicks next weekend, while throwing in an action movie so that we don't get too bogged down by the lovey dovey-ness. I think it's quite an excellent idea.
As I was researching for this post, I ran across the fascinating historical background for St. Valentine's Day. It began on February 14, 278 AD when a holy priest of Rome, named Valentine was executed by Emperor Claudius the Cruel. Claudius had heard that men were unwilling to join the army because of marital ties, so he had banned all marriages and engagements throughout the Roman Empire. Valentine, who saw this as an unjust declaration, began performing marriages in secret. He soon was discovered and was sentenced to death by beating of clubs then beheading. During his last days in jail, he reportedly wrote a farewell letter to a friend and signed it "from your Valentine." Valentine was later made a saint. Although, this lovely story sounds so neat and tidy, historians question its validity. February 14 prior to 496 AD was celebrated as the Feast of Lupercalia, where women's names would be placed in a box and men would draw them out as part of a pagan festival of love. Eventually, this day simply morphed into a holiday celebrating love, which we now experience in its commercialized form today.
Here are some of my Valentine's Day inspirations that I wanted to share with you:
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