A Hallmark holiday

 With Valentines day just around the corner I was thinking about being in school. It would have been about this time we would have been getting ready for that. I remember there being a big box that we had decorated to put your valentines in. Seems like they were handed out by the teacher during our party. Now elementary school was a long time ago for me so I can't be certain. I do recall one year we all made an envelope that we taped to the front of our desk. Anyone that wanted to leave you a card could just place it in there. The thinking was no one would get embarrassed if they didn't get as many cards as someone else. I honestly couldn't say if I got any or not. I imagine I did as I think we pretty much gave one to everybody. Like I said it's been a long time. It also seems to me we weren't too concerned with " romantic " interests much before fifth grade. I'm certain we weren't as aware of anatomy as they are today. Naïve? If you want to call it that, I suppose we were but I think it was a good thing. I don't believe we had as many " incidents " of inappropriate behavior back then. Could be there is a correlation but I haven't done a study on that.

 I did a little reading about Valentines day to see how it began. Like a lot of things in history there are different versions to the story. I read where there were actually three saints named Valentine. Two of them were martyred by the same Roman Emperor,  Claudius II. I wonder how many others just changed their name while he was in power? But whatever another Valentine was imprisoned in the tower of London. Prior to being executed it is said that he wrote a letter to his lady love, possibly the daughter of his jailer. He signed that letter, Your Valentine. That's why we still say that. It all sounds pretty romantic. But as I read about that it was also said that Valentines day was created as a replacement for a pagan ritual. It was done by the Catholic church. 

 Now I place more credibility in that story as it wouldn't have been the only time the church has done that. People don't want to give up their traditions/celebrations very easily so it's easier to just rename them. A practice that continues to this day, most recently with the liberal/progressive crowd. Kinds the opposite of the intent of the Pope who wished to reign that pagan stuff in a bit. That's because the pagan ritual for what we call Valentines day, Luperci to those pagan folks, involved blood sacrifice. The pagans killed a dog and a goat. The dog was for purification and a goat for fertility. Had something to do with Romulus and Remus the founders of Rome being raised by a she wolf. After they killed the goat they would skin it, dip the skin in blood and hit the women with those strips! The women loved that as it would make them fertile. Then they got " assigned " a guy for a whole year. That often led to marriage. But that is what the Church didn't like about Valentines day, so they changed it up.

 Now Valentines greetings have ben around since the 1400's. At first they were letters, poems and the like. The old guys were far more romantic in that regard as they composed that stuff themselves. Well I did read where at least one King hired a writer to do that for him, but for the most part it was up to you. Cards followed. In 1840 a lady named Esther Howland began selling the first mass produced Valentines. Hand made and quite elaborate they were a hit with the guys. Whew, no more having to make stuff of. According to the greeting card company about 145 million Valentines cards are sold each year. Interestingly 85% are purchased by women, I was surprised by that. 

 I don't know as I haven't read much about the more modern time. I don't think a lady would be as impressed with a Valentine e-greeting. I have seen Victorias secret advertising to send her some apparel, but that seems like giving her the candy I want to eat, know what I mean? Do they make Valentine cards for same sex couples now? Well whatever the case I still just view Valentines day as a " Hallmark " holiday. As far as I'm concerned it is more about buying something than anything else. It's day when all men have to walk on egg shells! Cards, flowers, dinner, whatever it takes. It was a lot easier in elementary school that much is certain. A few candy hearts and that generic greeting Be Mine was good enough. Although I can see the fun in slapping women with strips of goat skins dipped in blood. That did come with a risk though, you never knew who you were going to get hooked up with, it was like a lottery. I'm betting the " priests " could be bribed though to get a satisfactory outcome. The church put an end to all that. Now it's a Hallmark holiday. Fact is it was never a Christian holiday and still isn't.