Valentine's Day

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Valentine's day

The St. Valentine story
Valentine symbols
Saint-Valentin village
"ILU" in different languages
The language of flowers
Short & sweet messages
All-time favourite love songs
Recipes
DIY crafts
Books & articles
Sweetheart avenue shoppe
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Facts

A couple of stories revolve around how this day came about -
1. Saint Valentine was a Christian priest in Rome. He was persecuted for his faith & sent to prison by the Romans. During his stay in the Roman prison, he performed a miracle when he restored the sight of the jail warden's blind daughter whom he also fell in love with. Before his death on February 14, 270, he had written a letter to her & signed 'From your Valentine'.
2. During the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius II, he was interested in gathering soldiers for his army & decreed that single men were not to get married. However St. Valentine married lovers in secret until he was discovered & beheaded by the emperor.
3. In ancient Rome, the Lupercalia was a festival of fertility celebrated on February 15 in the honor of Lupercus, the god of the herds & shepherds. The main feature that marked this day was the race, where young men would take to the streets & hit women with strips made from the skin of an animal that had just been sacrificed. Such an act was believed to make barren women fertile. It was said that Christians wanted to end stop such practices & so decided to celebrate St Valentine's Day a day earlier.
4. In the middle ages, in the middle of February, French villagers noticed the first signs of spring & that birds begin preparing their nests for the mating season.
There were at least 3 saints of the name Valentine, all of whom died as martyrs. The first Valentine was a Roman priest martyred under Emperor Claudius II, the second was a Bishop of Terni killed in the same century while little is known of the third who died in Africa.
In 1835, an Irish preacher named Father John Spratt visited Rome & impressed the Pope Gregory XVI with his preaching. The Pope then presented him the remains of St Valentine's body, then believed to be in the Cemetery of St. Hippolitus as a gift. This gift can be viewed today in
Whitefriar Street Church in Dubin, Ireland.
Saint-Valentin is a village situated south of France.
Valentine's day is a celebration of love, life, fertility & the arrival of spring.

Valentine symbols

Heart
A symbol of love.
Cupid
In Roman mythology, Cupid was the son of Venus, the goddess of love & Mercury. In Greek mthytology, he was Eros, son of Aphrodite & Hermes.
Rose
Supposedly the favourite flower of Venus.
Rings
Just as a circle has no end, a ring symbolizes never-ending love.
Love birds
These colorful African birds love to sit close to each other in pairs.
Doves
Remain with their mates throughout their lives & both the male & female care for their young.
Lace
Once upon a time, when a woman accidentally drops her lace handkerchief, a gentleman would pick it up for her. However sometimes when she sees a man she likes, she would drop her handkerchief so as to create a meeting chance. That is how lace has been associated with romance.
Love knots
A knot interwinds & interlocks & so represents everlasting love.

Short & sweet messages

Love is a splendid thing & so are you.
L et
O ur love
V oyage be
E nduring
Your love fills my heart
I will love you till the end of time
I may not know much but I do know I love you
Life is uncertain but not my love
Had no idea what love was until I met you
How do I love thee? I'm counting the ways
I like you & me together
I'm so glad I found you
The moments we share are special because of love, the love we share is special because of you
I love you with all my heart

Recipes (printer-friendly)

Coeur Le Creme with raspberry sauce

Hearts of fennel with lemon & coriander

Spicy red rice with chicken & vegetables

Baked red snapper with tomato, orange & saffron

Tomato, mint & red onion salad

The ultimate valentine cake

Champagne parfaits with pears & raspberries

More...

DIY crafts
(for everyone in the family)

Love jar
Cross-stitch rose
Coffee filter rose
Barbie fun
Mosaic valentine heart
Heart baskets
Cupid arrows
More...

Continue with :
"ILU" in different languages
The language of flowers
All-time favourite love songs
Books & articles
Sweetheart avenue shoppe

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
- Paul, the apostle, I Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)

"Beloved, let us love one another : for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God."
- John, the apostle, 1 John 4:7 (KJV)

"An archaeologist is the best husband any woman can have: the older she gets, the more interested he is in her."
- Agatha Christie

"Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another."
- George Elliot

"The love we give away is the only love we keep."
- Elbert Hubbard

"Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half shut afterwards."
- Benjamin Franklin

..........................................

Books & articles

I Keep Falling in Love With You : A Blue Mountain Arts Collection - Susan Polis Schutz.

Precious Moments, Seasons Of Faith, Love Forever True - Sam Butcher.

Charlie Brown Valentine (Peanuts) - Justine Fontes, Ron Fontes, Charles Schulz.

Hearts, Cupids, and Red Roses: The Story of the Valentine Symbols - Edna Barth.

Making Love Last Forever - Gary Smalley.

The Five Love Languages of Teenagers - Gary Chapman.