St. Valentine Day:
St.
Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early
Christian saints named Valentinus. The most popular history associated with
Saint Valentine was that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers
who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were
persecuted under the Roman Empire; during his imprisonment, he is said to have
healed the daughter of his jailer Asterius. Legend states that before his
execution he wrote "from your Valentine" as a farewell to her. Today,
Saint Valentine's Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion, as
well as in the Lutheran Church.
The day was
first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the
High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th
century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love
for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending
greeting cards, as "valentines"). Valentine's Day symbols that
are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the
winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to
mass-produced greeting cards.
Love
is … a necessity, not a luxury.
Love
is … living for each other.
Love
is … showing them that you really care.
Love is ... enjoying the life with the one that you love.
