Valentine's Day has not always been a romantic day for me. Before I met Rich a few of them I had a boyfriend to celebrate it with but those were very few. When I was in High School and College, my mom was always so sweet to get me a card and little something to say she loved me. After my mom died I had some really sweet girlfriends who knew I was single and alone on this day and would give a me a sweet card and little gift. I always thought that was just so sweet and I would remember how much God loved me and He was my ultimate Valentine (smile). I also read about the history of Valentine's Day and it made the day more special too.
Here is what I read:
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 honour 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 honour 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 endeavoured 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.
Now Valentine's Day to me is so much more as God has given me a wonderful husband and daughter that came to be because of our love. She is our little Valentine. We all went out to eat at Olive Garden on Saturday to celebrate our day together. Here are some photos we took and a little message that Mary wrote all on her own.
