Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. A day to show love for those close to your heart.

Valentine's Day has it's legends since it's conception. Like a lot of our holidays, Valentine's Day started out as a pagan holiday, in this case it was the Roman festival of  fertility called Lupercalia which was held annually on February 15. Approximately around 496 Pope Gelsius I renamed to a Christian fest day called St. Valentine's Day ,named after one of the three Saint Valentines who were martyred  on February 14.

It was not until the 14th century that St. Valentine's Day became associated with love and it was Chaucer who linked this celebration with love. In 1381 Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement between England's Richard I and Anne of Bohemia, in his poem The Parliament of Fowls, he linked the royal engagement, the mating of birds and St. Valentine's day together and thus love and St. Valentine's Day have been associated with each other ever since.

St. Valentine's Day evolved over the centuries and by the 18th century, gift-giving and exchanging hand made cards consisting of hearts, lace, ribbons and cupids were common in England and eventually spread to the American colonies. However, the widespread tradition of  Valentine's Day cards in the United States did not take place until 1850 when Esther A. Howland of Worcester, Mass. began mass-producing them.  Today, Valentine's Day is a big business, balloons, candy, flowers, and according to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent each year are valentines.

And so for this celebration of love, here is a poem for the Lovely Lady D.

                  My heart has been taken by the Lovely Lady D        

                  Her voice is heard in sweet refrain
                  As she sings to me

                  Our love is one of purity
                  Cast in iron
                  And in flame

                  Our hearts entwined
                  Our love unbridled
                  Upon a fertile plane

                  Lovers forever
                 Shipmates on the sea
                 Wolves that roam together,

                My heart has been taken
                And she holds the key

               @Wayne Adam