Cherishing Valentine's Day

 

cherish - verb - to hold someone or something dear; to protect, care for lovingly (Google)

Valentine's Day is one of the "holidays" that as a mature adult, I cherish and look forward to every year regardless of whether or not I am in a romantic relationship. The cynical critics–and there are always cynical critics–claim it is a chance for companies like Hallmark to meet their annual quotas. But many of the Debbie-downer detractors are either ignorant of the occasion's historical connections, have never been in love, or just got divorced. (Perhaps all three? Yikes. I cringe to think about it.)  

Apparently, according to legend and goodhousekeeping.com, there were two Roman men by the name of Valentine. One went around freeing imprisoned Christians (He is the one who ostensibly came up with the idea of sending cards.), and the other was a favorite priest in the third century who rebelled against a government that purported to prevent young men from marriage in order to keep the military strong. Someone who cherished the idea of adoration, Valentine, most likely the saint, illegally married couples, and consequently was apprehended and sentenced to death for his altruism. The theme sentence for this story? "No good deed goes unpunished."

Interestingly enough, February 14th first became directly associated with love in the 1300s. The English and French mutually believed that birds began their mating season on the actual day. Oh, those love birds! Englishmen tend to refer to their girlfriends as "birds" (at least they used to), which might have something to do with this bit of trivia as well, but don't quote me on it. 

Why Valentine's Day has never been designated a national holiday in my opinion is unfathomable. Obviously, I am a romantic and feel as though love is an abstraction that should be valued more highly than let's say George Washington's and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays since both men would have probably had a worse time of it had it not been for the love of their wives. But I can't complain, especially since the sales at Macy's alone on Presidents' Day are worthy of a day off from work. 

What most of us who are in love with love agree on is that love shouldn't need a particular day for reasons of commemoration. Love should be first on everyone's list every day of the year. 

Happy Valentine's Day to all! 

oxoxox

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