Valentine’s Day… The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

February 14th, love it or loathe it, it comes around every year. The annual enforcement of roses and hearts, poetry and candles to show that special someone how special they are.

But where did it actually originate?

Well folk law suggests that bishop Valentine from Terni, Italy, performed weddings for couples who were not allowed to get married. They may not have been allowed to get married because the parents did not agree with the connection or the fact that intended couple were slaves or soldiers. Valentine would offer flowers from his garden to mark their connection in matrimony hence why flowers play such an important role in today’s more commercial celebration.

The Valentine’s legend began to fade but it was in fact, English emigrants who took the Valentine’s custom to the United States and after the Second World War, US soldiers brought this festival back to Europe, when it began to grow exponentially.

Valentine’s Cards became very popular. The cards usually have pictures of hearts or flowers and contain some sort of poem, message, or code. Codes and simple messages give some people the courage to show their true feelings to the person they love.

In my personal opinion, Valentine’s Day has become far too commercial. The mystery and romantic intrigue of what could be a very personal and intimate celebration is being watered down every year. Here is a link to a study that was recently conducted:

http://www.statisticbrain.com/valentines-day-statistics/

I am truly astonished about some of the facts and costs that are associated with Cupid’s favourite day and thought I would mention some of the trials and tribulations.

http://www.statisticbrain.com/valentines-day-statistics/

Unfortunately for another friend of mine, Valentine’s Day efforts did not quite have the same ending.

Like myself, this chap is a bit of a sceptic when it comes to Valentine’s Day, but after several threats from his girlfriend he thought he must do something. May I add his intentions were very good and he did try his best, buying her a very thoughtful card and giving her a beautiful bunch of roses. Later that night he thought he would try his hand at a bit of Jamie Oliver type activity, taking to the kitchen to whip up a feast fit for a princess. Bruschetta to start, onto a home a made chicken stir fry, finishing with Eton mess. Besides not being any kind of chef with zero cooking experience, the starter was a flying success, two clean plates. The main again seemed to have gone down a treat with no complaints and like most deserts…inhaled. Pride. Until 45 minutes later when a mutual stomach grumble came and a hot sweaty flush came over the couple. A further 5 minutes passed before the floodgates opened, without going into too much detail, it was not pretty. The couple spent the rest of the night cuddling a toilet seat rather than each other and the surprise underwear he had bought for her had gone to waste. A lovely effort, but finding out that chicken was different to beef and could not be served pink in the middle proved to be a tough lesson to learn.

Do we need a day special day to show that special someone how much we really love them??

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to make quite a bold statement. There are people who don’t have a dad on Father’s Day or a mum on Mother’s Day, so please remember that when complaining about not having someone to share Valentine’s Day with. Perspective.