Say NO to Valentine's Day!

THE HISTORY OF VALENTINE'S DAY

Valentine's day was named in honor of the patron saint, St. Valentine. If you do some research on this, you will find that it isn't just one man this day was potientially named after. One man that could very well be the inspiration behind all this romantic fanfare was a third century roman priest that defied Emperor Claudius the II's ban on marriage. This Valentine illegally married couples in the spirit of love, of course, and was sentenced to death for his good deeds.

Another legend claims that Valentine was killed for attempting to help Christians escape from a Roman prison. He was reported to of been the first person to send a valentine's message. While imprisoned himself, it is said he wrote a letter and signed it, "From your Valentine."

Other historians believe that Valentine's origins are actually rooted in a Pagan fertility festival called "Lupercalia". The day was celebrated on February 15th in ancient Rome. The day was dedicated in honor of Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture and Roman founders Romulus and Remus. The day was celebrated by sacrificing animals and smacking women with the animal hides. They believed that in doing this, it encouraged fertility in the women. Don't know about you, but this practice would not encourage me to have a child no matter how many times they repeated the acts.

More reports claim that at the end of the 5th century, Roman Pope Gelasius officially declared the date of February 14th to be St. Valentine's Day. It wasn't until the middle ages that the day would be associated with love and romance. This is because it was believed that birds started their mating season on the 14th of February in France and England. So in some history reports the one day the majority of the population shows their affection to others, is due to birds. Hmm, that really doesn't spark any romantic feelings in me.

If you look at the history, Valentine's day has a dark past, no matter how you look at it. So why is this day the only day dedicated to romance and love?

Every year the total amount of money spent on this one day rises. In 2019, Americans alone, spent over 20 billion dollars on Valentine's day. That's a huge price to pay for one day out of a whole year. Take into the fact that this amount was spent just in America. The whole world celebrates this day. If we added every country's spending for flowers, candy and jewelry for just one day, we are looking at a staggering figure that would cover the national debt.

The mere fact that romance and love doesn't even have to cost a single penny, makes the amount spent in a single day that much more ridiculous.

Instead of focusing all the attention on this day, wouldn't our money and time be more valuable somewhere else? Like, perhaps, in researching more viable alternatives to how we live that will help our future generations enjoy this planet?