Hello everyone, how are you doing on this beautifully romantic day? As in, it is in the air, it's in the water and it is deep in the bowels of the earth. I do not have to tell you all what is happening today, your social media platforms are probably burning up with the red and white celebrations going on all over the world today.
There is no need for too much story, on this day the 14th of February we get to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Based on popular belief, it is a day set aside for lovers. On this day you get to give each other romantic presents, spend quality time and make the day memorable for you both.
There is no clear story as to how Valentine’s Day really started, but the day is believed to be named after a saint in the Catholic Church. This was during the year 496 AD when the Church was trying to overshadow and completely replace the Festival of Lupercalia.
Going through the pages of history, there are quite a number of St. Valentines that the day could have been named after. But there are different stories around.
There is a story of one that was marrying couples secretly so the men would not be sent off to war. There is another that is said to have healed the blind. There is yet another that had written a message to his daughter which he had signed ‘your valentine’. Who knows, they might all be the same person. Or they might not.
Around the 1400s, the day began to gain prominence and became associated with romance. At that time, messages (or ‘valentines’ as they were called) began to appear. There were handwritten poems or letters that were addressed to lovers. And the practice only became more and more popular.
It was not until the mid-1800s that valentine's cards became popular. And then people also began to gift their loved ones with roses which was the symbol of love and beauty.
And to this day, it is a practice that is still very much in vogue. If anything, it has expanded beyond what it had started out as.
As it turns out, Valentine’s Day is not just cut out for lovers. It is also a day that you can spend with other loved ones, family members, and friends. You can show them that love is truly a beautiful thing and the fact that they are in your life makes you appreciate life all the more.
So, it does not matter if you do not have a lover to celebrate it with, or if your family and friends are too far away for you to spend the day with them. You can spend it doing the things you love, the things that make you genuinely happy. Because in the end, we all love ourselves, do we not?
So step into the lovely day with a bounce in your step and a song in your heart, feel free to dance because you are just so full of love you would probably burst from it. There are those things that make you happy; do them with your lover, do them with your family or friends, or at the very least do them with you.
Your love is important to you too!
And as you do so, see your relationship grow stronger and stronger.
Thank you very much for reading, till we meet again in the next post. Meanwhile, do have a lovely Valentine!