In this modern age, Valentine’s Day is celebrated worldwide as a day to express love and affection to romantic partners, friends, and family. It is often associated with the exchange of cards, flowers, and gifts, as well as romantic dinners and gestures of affection.
Love should be celebrated every day, not just during this one day of the year. How about showing affection to your partner, family and friends always. Small acts of kindness are always welcome. Do we need big gestures to show us we are loved? Not when we are in the trenches together, working toward common goals, but kindness is essential. What if we yell and scream when we hit our thumb with the hammer, or the waterline to the livestock tank is frozen yet again, so be it. That is an act of nature, an act of kindness can help to smooth the tension.
Remember when you were a kid and got pinched or scratched? Mom could kiss and make it all better. An act of kindness can do the same. Bring out a meal or cup of coffee to the man in the field, feed the livestock, milk the cow, help make dinner, get the kids into the bath, take turns doing certain chores. I’ve always found that those little kindnesses make great gratitude. Does your lady have long hair? Offer to brush it. Give your hardworking man or woman a foot or back massage. Chores shouldn’t be specific to a gender or person (mom’s job, dad’s job, etc.). My man is the better cook, so he does most of the cooking, but I do the clean-up, this routine works for us. What works for you?
Show the people you love how much they mean to you. Keep them close and tell them every day how and why they are special in your life.
The Common History of Valentine’s Day
It’s said that a man named Valentine is the one credited with the inception of Valentine’s Day. Most people believe he is revered for his role as a Roman priest who helped couples be married in secret, despite some contradictory stories of his conduct that led to the founding of the celebration.
Legend has it that Claudius II, the Emperor of Rome from 268 to 270 A.D., forbade marriage because he thought unmarried men were better fighters. Valentine thought that this was unfair, so he decided to perform marriages outside of the law. He concealed the rites, but on February 14 of the year 270, he was found out and put to death for his condemnation of the emperor. It is believed that Valentine wrote the first-ever “valentine” to his jailer’s daughter whom he fell in love with right before he died.
CLASSIC MATCHMAKERS
The origins of the celebrations on this day actually lie in an ancient pagan ceremony that dates back many years before the birth of Valentine. Every February, the event is held in Rome, and part of its purpose is to pair up new couples. Boys are said to have taken girl names out of a box during the festivities. The couples would stay together during the festival, and some of them would even tie the knot once it was over. After Pope Gelasius I instituted St. Valentine’s Day, the celebration transformed into a Christian celebration centered around the saint. St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated worldwide even though the Catholic Church no longer observes it.
CHANGING TRADITIONS
Valentine’s Day traditions have evolved a lot over the years. For example, in the Middle Ages—which lasted from the 5th to 15th centuries–people started exchanging handmade cards with love notes inside. Today billions of dollars are spent on Valentine’s Day cards and gifts each year around the world. The celebration has become commercialized, with businesses marketing various products and services for the occasion.
