Valentine's Day

*Allegedly,* these are relics (bones) of St. Valentine.  I saw this myself my last trip to Rome.  Before we get in a tizzy over who did & who did not get a life-size teddy bear or 400 roses, let's learn a little bit about where tomorrow came from shall we?

The ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of our modern day of love. Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Valentine’s Day, in fact, originated as a liturgical feast to celebrate the decapitation of two third-century Christian martyrs. 

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Still others insist that it was Saint Valentine of Terni, a bishop, who was the true namesake of the holiday. He, too, was beheaded by Claudius II outside Rome.

The ancient feast held during this time is not one I fell is necessary or even appropriate to post here, but let's just say it involved singe women being peer pressured into being matched with men by pulling names out of a jar.  Sound romantic to you?

Tomorrow is a commercial holiday brought to you by Hallmark & every chocolate & flower company out there, solely for their own profit.  Do you really need 12 commercials to tell you that you should tell the important people in your life how you feel about them?  And that you must do it on 2/14 or you are clearly a terrible person?  The answer should be a very loud NO.

Tomorrow is about capitalism.  Don't let it bother you one bit if you don't get something that shows other people someone loves you.  LOTS of people love you.  They show you every single day.  Love does not require money or gifts.  Ever.

See you tomorrow.  I hope you studied.