Of course you should expect me to write about this holiday. I'm a romantic at heart. I believe love conquers all, and I believe that if you love someone, nothing should stop you from trying to make it work. I am not saying stalk the person you love, but can you truly be in love with someone if some sort of feelings for you aren't reciprocated? Yes; you can love someone who only likes you, and yes; feelings tend to run deeper in one person vs the other, but if you have to stalk the person you love, it's not love, it's an obsession and you need to go get help.
But this is more of a history lesson for me, and a way to learn something new about a holiday that I've always been pretty fortunate to have amazing memories from. Yes it's a cheesy hallmark holiday, but it doesn't mean a girl doesn't like a little romance on that day... a candle lit picnic on the beach is perfect :) (thank you Sean for that memory lol)
The history of Valentines day I'm sure everyone knows: a saint (St. Valentine) who was jailed for secretly marrying soldiers under a tyrants rule who believed that marriage made men weak. So as he was jailed, he fell in love with the jailkeepers daughter, and the night before he was killed, he sent her a note signing it, "love your Valentine"- hence the first valentine ever. That story is touching mind you, but its not "The Notebook".
The part of St. Valentine that I admire most was that, he risked his life because he believed in the love of others. Not that he died and wrote the woman he loved, but he knew the law, and still believed in the love between two strangers that he was willing to risk his own life to make them happy.
So besides the actual real history of Valentine's Day, here's some other facts about this "Hallmark" holiday:
-Alexander Graham Bell applied for his patent on the telephone, an "Improvement in Telegraphy", on Valentine's Day, 1876
-During the late 1800s, postage rates around the world dropped, and the "x-rated" St. Valentine's Day card became popular, the numbers of racy valentines grew, several countries banned the practice of exchanging Valentine's Days cards. During this period, Chicago's post office rejected more than 25,000 cards on the grounds that they were so indecent, they were not fit to be carried through the U.S. mail.
-It wasn't until 1537 that St. Valentine's Day was declared an official holiday. England's King Henry VIII declared February 14th a holiday
-The oldest known Valentines were sent in 1415 A.D. by the Duke of Orleans to his French wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. It is still on display in a museum in England.
-The oldest surviving love poem is written in a clay tablet from the times of the Sumerians, inventors of writing, around 3500 B.C. It was unromantically named Istanbul #2461 by the archeologists who unearthed it.
For me, the history of this holiday has created some of the best memories I have. I've been extremely lucky to have men who loved to rarely show their emotions :) So this day got him to actually verbally express his feelings for me. Now whether it was just the holiday, or if he truly felt that way, I can't answer that, BUT I can say that at the time I felt and believed he meant every word that was said. I remember surprising my boyfriend by flying out to see him on Valentine's day (also our anniversary) and we honestly did nothing but sit at home and watch movies and cuddle, and it was amazing :) Well, he did make me chocolate covered strawberries, and an amazing dinner, but no presents were exchanged :)
So if you're reading this, and there is someone that you wish you could be with, and you can't, it shouldn't stop you from telling them how you feel. Even if nothing may come of it, man up, or woman up and tell them <3. We'll see if I take my own advice right???
Happy Valentine's Day, and even though it's a hallmark holiday, it's still ok to be a little extra romantic on this day ;)
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