I remember one year in head office at Wesley Mission, a practical joker with more money than sense anonymously sent roses and cards to certain females which caused a great deal of consternation, especially with one husband, and with a few unattached females.
However the idea of lovers expressing their love for each other by sending Valentines cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery is a great one for starting relationships, for keeping relationships fresh, and for restoring them when there is a need of saying "sorry".
According to Wikipedia, "the day is named after two among the numerous 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.
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. The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th-century America began the commercialization 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 women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines." In the US, it has become almost mandatory for males to remember their love, and every school girl sends off cards with high hopes.
"In 1969, the Catholic Church formally recognized eleven Valentine's Days. The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni. The Valentine of Rome was a priest who was martyred about AD 269 and was buried locally. Valentine of Terni was bishop of Terni about AD 197 and is said to have been killed during the persecution of EmperorAurelian.
The Valentine linked to romance is one of these two. Some scholars have concluded that the two were originally the same person. No romantic elements are present in the original early medieval biographies of either of these martyrs. By the time a Saint Valentine became linked to romance in the fourteenth century, distinctions between Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni were utterly lost.
The Venerable Bede wrote that St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Valentine was a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to Roman Emperor Claudius II, allegedly ordering that young men remain single. The Emperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers.
The priest Valentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men. While in prison, he ministered the Gospel of Christ to his jailors. One jailor asked him to pray for his blind daughter. Valentine prayed for the girl and she regained her sight. On the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he wrote the first "valentine" himself, addressed to the jailer's daughter. It was a note that read 'From your Valentine'."
There is a basis of truth in an otherwise romantic legend. Still, we can do well if we use the myth to remind us to thank and appreciate the one who loves us. We should do that constantly, so if you have not done that for a while use St Valentine's Day as a reminder. And it does keep the wheels of commerce turning in an otherwise bleak year. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day
