Well, today is Valentine's Day and it's greeted with pretty much an even mix of anticipation and dread.
Anticipation by those expecting a nice gift or perhaps an evening out as a token of love and affectio. And dread by those who have yet to purchase said token or make any sort of arrangements.
No worries, though. There is still time.
While many think of the day as little more than a stunt perpetrated on the public by businesses wishing to sell cards, flowers and candy, the truth is the holiday has a long tradition. It is named for not one, but two-maybe three-Christian martyrs named Valentine.
The Roman Catholic Church declared Feb. 14 St. Valentine's Day around the year 498, mainly as part of an effort to Christianize a pagan fertility holiday celebrated around that time.
Writer Geoffrey Chaucer first associated Valentine's Day with love in a passage in the 1382 poem "Parlement of Foules" written to honor the betrothal of King Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. The Valentine's Day that Chaucer referred to, though, was a day commemorating yet another Valentine, a former bishop of Genoa, whose feast fell on May 2, the same day the marriage treaty for the royal couple was signed.
Money got into the mix in 1847 when Esther Howland of Worcester, Mass., designed the first mass-produced Valentine's Day cards for her father's stationery shop. It was the birth of the modern greeting card industry and now about one billion cards are sent each year for Feb. 14.
Needless to say, other businesses were quick to get a piece of the action. Candy, flowers and jewelry are all now closely associated with the holiday, as are romantic dinners or getaways.
The good news for those who have put off Valentine's Day shopping is that everything you need is available right here in the Twin Cities.
Need a card, flowers, balloons or candy? Check. How about a place to dine out or have drinks afterward? Check. Champagne or some other romantic gift? Check.
All available right here at home. You can hit the stores or call for a reservation on your lunch break.
Good for you. Good for your loved one. Good for the local economy.
Happy Valentine's Day to one and all.
