I have decided to devote at least part of this week’s blogs to the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday. I have to admit that I have not always been a fan of the holiday but I will repress the ongoing urge to rant about it. Instead, I’d like to discuss the real story of Valentine’s Day and how lovely greeting cards stemmed from tragedy.
A long, long time ago (as all such stories begin) a priest named Valentine disobeyed Emperor Claudius of Rome by continuing to perform marriages in secret. Claudius had decided that single men made greater soldiers than married ones, so he simply outlawed marriage. Valentine disagreed with the decree and carried on marrying young lovers in secret. Naturally, Valentine was caught and imprisoned – his sentence was death. While in prison, Valentine fell in love with a young girl, supposedly the jailor’s daughter. Shortly before his execution Valentine wrote a love letter to the girl and signed it “From your Valentine.” Although some of the details are murky at best, the rest of the history and legend are easy to imagine.
When I think of Valentine’s Day in that light, how can I show disdain? It is such a lovely story. This year, I will think of Valentine as I chose the appropriate card(s) and hope that I will do him proud.
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Tags: Devil Cards, Moonpig, Valentines Day
