Celebrating the Month of Romance!
In honor of this month, the month of romance, I thought I might post about the history of St. Valentine's Day, but honestly, I after doing some research I just don't find it that interesting. It goes something like this: St. Valentine could have been any one of some 14 different ancient Roman saints who were martyred for various reasons---none related to romance or love---according to historians. In 496 Pope Gelasius I declared February 14th as the official burial day in honor one St. Valentine, but it wasn't until Geoffry Chaucer and Medieval proponents of courtly love did there seem to be much of connection with St. Valentine and the celebration of romance. By the middle ages though, the idea of giving gifts and declaring affection to one's affianced on St. Valentine's day seems to have caught on, and by Victorian times, fancy cards and sweet gifts were well-ensconced in what is now a solid part of the American Holidays (even the American Pilgrims shared Valentine...