Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Happy Valentine's Day



History states that the martyr, St. Valentine, died on February 14, 269 A.D. and left a goodbye note for his jailer's daughter, who he'd befriended. The note was signed "From Your Valentine". It's probably safe,though, to assume that most people don't think of martyred saints when they think of Valentine's Day.


Personally, I think first of chocolate.



Next I think of Zeus the son of Jupiter and Venus, usually known as Cupid.



I feel a little awkward about Valentine's Day as a holiday to profess love because, quite frankly, aren't we supposed to do that all year? My head tells me that it's a contrived money grab and society reinforces it with stores filled to the rafters with Valentine paraphernalia and television commercials for heart-shaped diamond pendants. Still, I admit I get sucked in. I want something on Valentine's Day. Not diamonds (though I wouldn't throw them away ha ha) but a romantic, sentimental card and, yes, chocolate.

How about you? Are you hoping for flowers, chocolate and romance today, or do you ignore all the hoopla?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I got chocolate this morning and I'm ashamed to say, I've already eaten most of it.

Maggie

Phoebe Belsley said...

Maggie is my hero!

I'm considering a little chocolate now, since it's a snow day from school and the kids are already fighting. Grr.

My husband and I make a yearly vow not to get each other anything. We usually have some big, expensive home improvement project going on, and that's where we put the money. We each ignore this vow, however, but only on alternate years. I get him something one year, while he gets me nothing. Then the next year he feels obliged to get me something to make up for not getting anything before, but by then he's made me feel so guilty about breaking the vow last year that I get him nothing. It's a vicious cycle. He's never bought me chocolates, though. More of a flowers kind of guy.

Marianne Arkins said...

Hubby and I pretty much ignore the big V-Day for the reason you mentioned... aren't you supposed to show you love someone all year? Plus, I don't each sugar and I hate diamonds (can you believe it?), so what's a guy to do?

His co-workers think he has it made! LOL

Eve Silver said...

Okay, hubby shows me love every day, but, hey, Valentine's Day is a great guilt-free excuse to eat chocolate, LOL! He's been buying me hand-made Swiss truffles every year we've been together, from the same store (which opened its doors the year we met).

Wendy Roberts said...

Maggie, I got flowers which are really lovely but I can't eat them LOL. If they were chocolate they'd already be gone.

Caroline, my sister and her hubby do the same back-and-forth thing. It's kinda cute :)

Marianne, so do you ignore the holiday altogether or just go for cards? I'd love to go out to dinner but the restaurants are always too busy for me.

Eve, hand over some of your Swiss truffles and nobody gets hurt!

Sally MacKenzie said...

We pretty much ignore V-Day, too. I used to buy gifts for my husband and my sons--that's what we did in my family growing up--but the sons got too old to be cute about it and hubby felt guilty. And then I got busy writing and had less time to troll the stores for goodies. Plus hubby's b-day is in February.

This year, though, the tables were turned. Hubby made dinner for me Sunday--he was supposed to be at work today, but the ice kept him home, so he spent the day clearing sidewalks. Not much food in the house, so I'll make scrambled eggs for whoever wants them.

Anissa said...

We ignore it. Honestly, sometimes I forget that it's Valentine's Day until someone mentions it. Flowers on any random day mean more to me. And chocolate, well, I buy that for myself. ;)

Kristi Cook said...

Me and my hubby just try to do someting really fun together for V-day, and forget the cards/flowers/candy (means more on a random day, as far as I'm concerned!). This year we're going to a fabulous restaurant and to see a Broadway show that I'm dying to see (Journey's End), simply because it's Hugh Dancy's Broadway debut (and I *love* Hugh Dancy!). With hubby knowing that I lust after Hugh, I think he's being wonderfully indulgent--and that's a gift in itself!