Well, at last. At the advice of my daughter, I have decided to do something I have been meaning to do for a long time, i.e., start a blog. I'm kind of nervous about it, so if you judge me, please be gentle. I'm new at this. I posted this on facebook this morning, and it caused my daughter to suggest (or actually, to re-suggest, as she has advised me many times to do this) that I start a blog. So I thought, "Why not start with this? What better day to start one than on Saint Valentine's Day, and what better message to post for my first blog than one about universal love? So here goes; this is what I posted on facebook today:
"For those of you who are feeling lonely today, & hating "singles awareness day …" I was doing some research just for fun on the origins of Valentine’s Day, which is named for a saint we actually know very little about, except that he was once alive, & that he died on February 14. Popular legend says that the Roman Emperor in AD 270 believed that married men did not make good soldiers, so he forbade them to get married. The emperor was a pagan, & refused to allow the sacraments, one of which was marriage, to his soldiers. The legend says that Saint Valentine performed marriage ceremonies for these soldiers anyway. Legend also says that Valentine cut out paper hearts & handed them out to those soldiers & other persecuted Christians to remind them of God’s love, which may be the origin of the distribution of paper hearts on Valentine’s Day. The Roman emperor planned to execute Valentine for these infractions. During his imprisonment prior to his execution, Valentine healed a girl named Julia, who was the blind daughter of his jailer. On the day before Valentine was to be executed, he sent the now-sighted Julia a farewell letter, signing it, "From your Valentine." Valentine was killed on February 14. Julia planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near Valentine’s grave, & today the almond tree remains a symbol of love & friendship. Now, although this story is just a legend, the implication is clear that Valentine’s Day was primarily a celebration of Christian love for mankind, & next, a celebration of love as friendship. In fact, Valentine’s Day was never attached to romantic love until the 14th century, when courtly love was becoming popular in Europe, which was when the day began to symbolize romantic love. My conclusion: at the roots of Valentine’s Day, it’s not a day to make single or lonely people feel left out, it’s a day for celebrating God’s love, & all kinds of love, for all kinds of relationships. So to ALL my facebook friends & family, Happy Valentine’s Day! May God bless you richly today! You are loved!"
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