jeremy lebor... valentine's day...

Valentine's Day...

"When you truly love someone, you open your heart to them completely..."

The origins of Valentine's Day, like the origins of love itself, are somewhat obscure — a combination of myth, history, destiny, chance and marketing...

Legend has it that a certain third-century priest named Valentine persisted in performing marriage ceremonies despite a ban by the Roman emperor Claudius II (Claudius was persuaded that single men made better soldiers for his army). Thrown into jail, Valentine formed a relationship with his jailor's daughter (some say he cured her blindness) and he signed his last message to her "From your Valentine," a phrase which still gets a lot of mileage.

St. Valentine was executed on 14th February, circa the year 270, and his remains are now on display in the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin.

There are also reports of an ancient pagan custom that took place in preparation for the Roman festival of Lupercalia , which started 15th. The names of the town's maidens would be collected and then drawn at random by the local bachelors; in this fashion couples were paired off for the year.

Medieval Europeans thought the 14th February, was the date on which the birds started to mate. Starting on Valentine's Day 1400, the French royal court held a Cour Amoreuse, in which ministers met after mass, in "joyous recreation and talk about love." Love poems were presented before the ladies, who judged them and awarded a golden crown for the best one.

The first valentine on record was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. That message is on display in the British Library.

In the 1840s a Massachusetts woman called Esther Howland came up with the idea of mass-producing Valentine's Day cards; now, about a billion are sent yearly.

14th February, has now become something of an 'commercial' day to exchange Valentine cards, and/or flowers and gifts... and to tell people that you love them...

Frankly, (and this is a personal opinion) as nice as it may be to have a day dedicated to love, if you truly love someone, then you should want to tell them all of the time how much you love them, and what they mean to you... not just on a special day... but what do I know!

Below are some thoughts for Valentine's Day... (and they are only thoughts!)

"The most beautiful view of all, is always the one you share with the one you truly love..."

"Love puts the fun in together, the sad in apart... but always joy in your heart..."

"True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, then get your ears checked!"

"There are three things that can never be hidden...The sun, a cough... and true love..."

"A man is not where he lives, but where his heart is... and who he loves..."

"Love is a game that two can play... and both win!"

"Trip over love and you can get up... Fall in love, and you fall forever..."

"True love is like a rose... plenty of moments that are soft as petals, and sometimes there are moments as sharp as thorns, but the difference is this... true love will never wilt or die..."

"Love is everything it's cracked up to be... It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, and risking everything for..."

"The love that does not have true friendship as its foundation... is like a mansion built upon sand..."

"When your heart speaks... take good notes!"

"Once in a lifetime, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love will give us a fairytale..."

"Blood may be thicker than water, but love is always thicker than blood..."

"Real love stories, definitely never have endings!"

"You should always dance like nobody is watching, dream like you will live forever... and love like it is never going to hurt!"

Lastly, my personal favourite which is reserved for that one and only true love... is as follows...

"I dropped a tear in the ocean, when they find it,
I will stop loving you..."

Happy Valentine's Day...

PLEASE NOTE: The comments and information concerning Valentine's Day, and other interpretations that may appear on this page, are intended to be as a guide and for information purposes only... The expressions come from a variety of sources, some personal, others have been in existence for many years gone by. They are not to be considered as an exhaustive interpretation upon the subject, and is based solely upon the author's own knowledge, understanding and experience(s)... Further, the author does not purport to be an exhaustive authority upon the matter!

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