Valentine’s Day ~ Celebrate the stirrings of your heart!
We know Valentine’s Day to be a time of celebrations of love, romance, roses and a licence to tell otherwise non-suspecting strangers that you like them. This is so much better than the dark past of whence it came! Although some people could argue the case of love toward some people to be torturous – society has moved on from martyrdom to freedom to express love.
Scroll down if some versions of the history of St Valentine’s day interests you.
Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, and it is celebrated annually on February 14, almost across the entire world.
You cannot buy love, but the kindness of a loving gesture or a little time or gift may stir and steer the heart in the right direction
Some of our favourites for Valentine’s day
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R43 Botriver Area ~ Dinner at Ecology Lifestyle Farm
Book your table on 028 284 9809 Ecology Lifestyle Farm
Botriver Station ~ Dinner at the Shuntin’ Shed
Buy them some Champagne from Genevieve MCC
Stanford area ~ For a unique experience and stunning sunsets and starry nights, have dinner at Panorama Restaurant.
Overcoming the darker origins of Valentine’s Day ~ Some versions of the history of Valentine’s Day
Originating as a Western Christian feast day honouring one or two early saints named Valentinus, Valentine’s Day is recognized as a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and romantic love in many regions around the world, although it is not a public holiday in any country.
Martyrdom stories associated with various Valentines connected to February 14 are presented in martyrologies, including a written account of Saint Valentine of Rome‘s imprisonment for performing weddings for soldiers, who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment Saint Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of his judge, and before his execution he wrote her a letter signed “Your Valentine” as a farewell.
The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known 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. In Europe, Saint Valentine’s Keys are given to lovers “as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart”, as well as to children, in order to ward off epilepsy (called Saint Valentine’s Malady).
Saint Valentine’s Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran Church. Many parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day, albeit on July 6 and July 30, the former date in honour of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and the latter date in honour of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (Modern-day Terni).
Obviously the works of William Shakespeare has also greatly influenced perceptions and helped to romanticise Valentine’s Day.
Yearly Valentine’s Day purchases reach into Billions. If only love itself could be bought! Fortunately, the kindness of a little gift may stir and steer the heart in the right direction.
