What is Valentines Day all about? Besides the origin of it, and all of the purchases we make on that day, whow! The holiday began in the year 496 originating from a Roman festival called "Lupercalia". This celebration took place in the middle of February which was springtime. It was held February 15th and was an ancient Roman festival of purification and fertility. It is pronounced "looperkalye".
February 14th is the celebration of the feast of St. Valentine of the Roman Catholic Church. He was known to be "hallow" which means having an exceptional degree of holiness to God. In other religions this special holiness which many religions attribute to certain people have different names; for instance, Holy people in the following religions would have these names; Jewish-Tzadik, Islamic-Wali, Hindu-Rishi or Sikhgura, Buddist-Arhat or Bodhisatta. St. Valentine was martyred for performing wedding ceremonies for soldiers who were forbidden to marry under the Roman empire. He was known for "courtly love and fertility". He was born in Terni Italy in 176 and died February 14, 273 in Rome, Italy.
Now, let's get to the meaning of love. Webster's definition; 1. Strong affection or liking for someone or something 2. A passionate affection of one person for another 3. The object of such affection; a sweetheart or lover; to feel love for, fall in love with, -in love feeling, to woo, embrace, etc. 4. To have sexual intercourse.
Out of the figures found on Valentine's Day spending in the U. S. it reads as follows; 18.2 billion dollars is spent by Americans for Valentine's day! 54% of Americans celebrate the holiday. 61% is spent on red roses and 2 billion on flowers alone! Each person out of the 54% spends $136.57 each. 70% is spent on candy or 1.7 billion. One out of five people buys jewelry which comes to 4.3 billion. One billion is spent on greeting cards and one million is spent on greeting card exchange. (from CBS News)
Just remember, if this is not your lucky year for love, remember the love of God and of yourself comes first. Children, mates, friends, pets, work, all fall into the category of "love".