History.com has a very interesting description of the history of Valentine’s Day. According to the site, the Catholic Church recognizes three Saint Valentines, all of whom were martyred. One story has St. Valentine put to death for helping Christians escape from Roman prisons, and another has him performing marriages after Claudius outlawed them in order to have more single men for his armies.
The site also features a quiz on “Dating Through the Ages.” Okay, I scored a 217, which the test told me was “not bad,” but I seemed to do better in the 1920s than any of the other eras….Ouch. Given that I got married in 1972, I guess that more recent trends are not exactly my forte.
I also really enjoy the quotes. I love quotes, and included a bunch in my latest biopsych text. Here are a few of my favorites:
Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.
– Aristotle
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
– Lao Tzu
Love does not dominate; it cultivates.
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Now not everybody enjoys Valentine’s Day. An upcoming movie has the title “I hate Valentine’s Day.” An article on the BBC talks about disgruntled anti-Valentine’s sentiment. Most of the anti-Valentine’s blogs don’t pass our no-profanity policy here on laurafreberg.com. Some of my students professed the notion that Valentine’s is great if you have a sweetie, but otherwise, it just is a painful reminder. Mr. F. had a solution–send your mom and/or dad a valentine, and they’ll be absolutely thrilled. That’s what our girls did for us, and we really appreciate their thoughtfulness.
At our house, Valentine’s of course means food. Mr. F is planning scallops (my favorite) in an authentic Alfredo sauce. Yum! However you spend your day, have a good one!
3 Comments
raquelart22 · February 17, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be depressing. I actually enjoy the holiday…however there has been some years I wished I zhad someone who brought me flowers and several ballons so I could walk around school all day with them & make the other girls jealous. However my mother always did something thoughful & sweet, like taking me shopping and brought my favorite treats. This valentine’s day I sent it with my roommate & we had a ball. I love the quote by Lao Tzu…very powerful & true, because love is a choice that we chose to act or not act on.
Mhusband · February 18, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I also agree that people shouldn’t hate on Valentine’s Day so much. I have a boyfriend, and he wasn’t even here for V-Day, but I still managed to have a great time with my girlfriends! I thought the history of Valentine’s Day was interesting; it’s kind of ironic that all the Saint Valentine’s were martyred. I loved all the quotes as well, especially Aristotle’s. Hope you scallop dinner was good! (I had scallops too on Valentine’s Day, and they were delicious!)
ewalter · February 19, 2009 at 10:27 am
I was never one for celebrating Valentines day. I always found myself working that night even though I had a boyfriend. This year was the first year I spent with my boyfriend and we had a wonderful day. Although I had a wonderful time I still think that valentines day was made to show your love for people that you should be showing eveyday.
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