Happy Valentines day that is so commercialized that I hate this day!
TO all...Happy Valentines Day!
Even though I am happily married to a man that is wonderful to me and never forgets Valentines Day, I hate this holiday. Florists and greeting cards and jewelry stores have made this holiday so commercialized that it seems as though only on this day you should say "I love you". I love you so much that today I am going to buy you something special.
Let me give you a "The History of Saint Valentine's Day"
Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.
The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.
Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.
The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavored to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feast. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.
So you see this is not a day for cards and flowers and jewelry. It truly is a day of love!
but of course I am not going to turn down the great little puppy I got for this day.
My Libby is a really cure little Min Pin. She is tiny and hyper but she is adorable.
And I am going to give my children all something special because I love them and they know that today is a day for getting a yummy gift of candy and the like.
And I did buy the wonderful man in my life a new wedding band because he lost the last one I bought him playing golf.
and I am going to tell all of you Happy Valentines Day because you are my friends.
Even though I am happily married to a man that is wonderful to me and never forgets Valentines Day, I hate this holiday. Florists and greeting cards and jewelry stores have made this holiday so commercialized that it seems as though only on this day you should say "I love you". I love you so much that today I am going to buy you something special.
Let me give you a "The History of Saint Valentine's Day"
Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.
The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.
Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.
The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavored to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feast. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.
So you see this is not a day for cards and flowers and jewelry. It truly is a day of love!
but of course I am not going to turn down the great little puppy I got for this day.
My Libby is a really cure little Min Pin. She is tiny and hyper but she is adorable.
And I am going to give my children all something special because I love them and they know that today is a day for getting a yummy gift of candy and the like.
And I did buy the wonderful man in my life a new wedding band because he lost the last one I bought him playing golf.
and I am going to tell all of you Happy Valentines Day because you are my friends.
posted by In all things there is a little Evil. at 11:56 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home