As most of you know, today, the 14th of February, is Valentines day. the day of love, romance and joy. The day of laughter, smiles and those butterflies in your stomach. But did you know that worldwide, statistically, the most suicides occur today? There's even someone called Gerald Klein Jr, who tried to organise a mass suicide today. How sick is that? We don't need to worry about him though, he was sentenced to 20 yrs in a state mental institution.
So, my question is now, where did these Valentines traditions begin?
This is St Valentines story.
St Valentine was born and raised in Rome,during the third century. at that time, Rome was an empire ruled by Claudius. Many people didn't like him, and St Valentine was one of them. St Valentine was a priest by profession, with a preference for marrying couples. Claudius decided around that time that his army was too small. He thought it was because of all the marriages, so he made a decision - all weddings were banned!
St Valentine (obviously a romantic at heart) decided he was going to keep marrying people anyway. One night, he got caught and thrown in jail, and was told he was sentenced to death.
Many people came to visit him and send him letters, telling him that they too believed in love. One of these people was the daughter of the prison guard - she told him to stay cheerful and keep believing in love. So St Valentine carried on marrying people illegitimately. On the day St Valentine was destined to die, he left her a letter, signing it "love your Valentine" - and so began a tradition!
On the upside, this is a very romantic story, and deep down, we all want to hear these cute stories that keep our inner-romantics melt. But on the other hand...
Valentines day is just suck-ish if you're single. its become over-commercialised, as has mothers day, fathers day, Easter etc.
Valentines day is one of those things you either love or hate. I'm going to leave y'all with a question now, What does Valentines day mean to you?
So this is me posting a comment.
ReplyDeleteCool thoughts about Valentines.
Yes I guess for the single it does suck.
But hey, the single won't be single forever...
i do disagree about you saying Easter is just a commercial thing. as a Christian, its the biggest celebration. Because I remember Jesus died for a sinner like me.
so ja, thats my thoughts for now.
Its not only about being single, to me, Valentines and all those things are just commercial scams. Go look at any business that sells gift-type things ratings, and see how many more sales they make over these holidays.
ReplyDeleteI respect and appreciate what you are saying about Easter, but that is you. So many people don't appriciate religious holidays as a reminder of what they symbolise, but rather what they benefit, for instance, easter eggs.