You may or may not be aware, but Iโm not one for Saint Valentineโs Day. All that love and stuff โ peh! I much prefer the celebration of Halloween with all itโs monsters and witches and ghosts and stuff.
Even though I donโt โdoโ Valentineโs Day, I still create a special seasonal header for my blog, and devote a post or two to this annual nonsense. You could say that Iโm cashing in on the day, which would be true if I did cash in. But as I donโt it isnโt. True, that is.
Now, my โfavouriteโ day of the year has been commemorated since the Middle Ages, apparently. There have been a couple of dozen Saint Valentines, or thereabouts, and confusion abounds as to which one actually is celebrated on February 14th. And quite a few of them met their end on February 14th, coincidentally.
Records from the days back when the first St Valentine is said to have lived are sketchy at best. And quite a few โfactsโ are probably based on folklore or legend, which makes the stories possibly more interesting. And therefore, many of the St Valentines who met their maker on February 14th may actually be the same person.
The first St Valentine, or Valentinus as he was known to his friends, lived in the early Third Century. He was a roman priest arrested by Emperor Claudius Gothicus; his crime: marrying Christian couples. The tale twists and turns from here. Claudius actually liked Valentinus, and they became friends, even though Valentinus was a prisoner.
Valentinus tried to convert Claudius (Claudius II as he was generally known back then) to Christianity, which in the days of the Roman Empire wasnโt the wisest of decisions he could have made. Not surprisingly, Claudius wasnโt impressed and demanded that Valentinus change his faithโฆ or be beaten and then beheaded.
In the year 269, on February 14th, Valentinus was beheaded. And again in 270. And once more in 273. Like I said, records were sketchy back thenโฆ however, if history is to be believed, the year 273 is likely to be a mythโฆ and quite possibly 270 as well, as Claudius II died in January 270 after contracting the plague during one of his many battles in ancient gothic Europeโฆ however, it is also possible that his judgment could have been carried out after his death. Twists and turns โ youโve got to love them!
But there is also another twist to the tale. A couple of centuries earlier, in 753BC to be exact, Romulus created the first Roman calendar, based on Lunar cycles. It had ten months, and a gap apparently. January and February never existed in those early days. The second Roman King, Numa Pompilius, rearranged the calendar, and added the extra two months, so it is entirely his fault that February 14th came into existence. The calendar has changed again since then, but February 14th has always been there to this day.
If we were still living by the first Roman calendar, weโd be โcelebratingโ Valentineโs Day either in the middle of a gap or not at all. Which, when you think about it, is what Valentineโs Day isโฆ a date that fills a gap between the Christmas and Easter holidays. Yes, I know, before you say itโฆ bah, humbug!
To me, itโs an ordinary day. This year, itโs an ordinary Thursday. Iโll be working. I wonโt be plotting to send an anonymous card to my loved one, and Iโll glue my letter box shut so any of my admirers canโt inflict the same on me. Iโll buy my own chocolates, strawberries and champagne, thank you very much, but possibly after the day, when the prices are more reasonable.
And, Iโll be preparing another Valentineโs Day post or two. Well, Iโm planning to, anyhowโฆ
Sideviewโs weekend theme this week is The Evil Plot, so I turned the theme inside out and rather than writing about a sinister plot or two, I decided to try to convince you all that I utterly detest Valentineโs Day. Well, evil is the opposite of love anyway, so it kind of fits. And I donโt utterly detest it. Not utterly.
Humbug: Humbug is a person or thing that tricks or deceives or talks or behaves in a way that is deceptive, dishonest, false, or insincere, often a hoax or in jest. The term was first described in 1751 as student slang.
1. Something intended to deceive; a hoax or fraud.
2. A person who claims to be other than what he or she is; an impostor.
3. Nonsense; rubbish.
4. Pretence; deception.
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