Happy Valentine's Day

[1052] hugs and kisses. cards and chocolate. dinner and roses. this day is filled with love, love, love, and more love. tons of people make sure they get their significant other, friend, or even family member something nice to show them they are loved. there are over 2 billion cards sent out worldwide on this day alone, AMAZING!

anytime v-day is mentioned everyone says its a holiday made by hallmark. in fact this day was named after Saint Valentine (who was originally a priest) he lived during third century Rome. has anyone else besides myself realized most holidays are named after dead people, hmmm! any who. around the time of Saint Valentine Claudius II ruled Rome and he was trying to recruit young men into his army. he realized no one was joining because they didn't want to leave their families and wives. so he declared that all marriages were to be banned, thinking if they had no wives or families to love and worry about they would join. and of course that didn't work!

being a priest and a man of God Saint Valentine knew this was wrong. he secretly married people in the basement of his church. of course there was a sad ending to this, dude has a day named after him. so he was caught and sentenced to DEATH! while in jail he was befriended by the jailer's daughter, she was his only comfort before death. before his brutal beating and hanging it was said that he wrote the jailer's daughter a letter. the ending to the letter read "from your valentine." hence the beginning of something so big. February 14, 270 A.D. marks the death of Valentine and he was declared a Saint in 498 A.D.

he is said to be the most popular Saint of saints. he was kind, courageous, heroic, and romantic. not many will die for the name of love. valentine's day isn't just a day to say i love you, its a day of history. there are so many holidays with a full history and to be aware of such things opens your mind.

so HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to everyone and remember Saint Valentine not just for giving us a holiday filled with candy and cards which is especially enjoyed by woman but for standing up for what he believed in, LOVE!