Valentines on the go

For all of those people who may have forgotten to get flowers or balloons before this afternoon...it was not too late. It seemed like wherever I went today, there were people set up in parking lots, in front of stores and on street corners offering all sorts of goodies (flowers, balloons, candy bouquets, stuffed animals) to buy for that special person in your life. Even my local grocery store was transformed.

It got me curious about what started it all. There are a few stories... Evidently, sometime around the third century, Emperor Claudius ll outlawed marriage for young men because he felt that unmarried men made better soldiers. Valentine (or Valentinus) understood the law was unjust and defied Claudius. He secretly married any young lovers who came to him. When his actions were discovered, he was put to death.

I'm not sure how our current celebration of Valentine's Day became what it is, but it began with an act of love by a priest who wanted to do the right thing.

Even though it has become pretty commercialized, it is still about wanting to show how we feel about our loved ones by presenting them with a gift—in the name of Valentine.

Happy Valentine's Day!