A Valentines Day Message

by Jennifer Watts

Do you enjoy a holiday? They are a time to celebrate friends, family, and the people we care about. What better day then Valentine’s Day to show someone you love them. 

Valentine’s Day has been around for a long time. Longer than many people might know. The special day’s origins may go back to ancient Rome. Back then, they had a festival to celebrate the beginning of spring. In the 400s, Pope Gelasius I, made a Christian priest named Valentine the patron saint of love and marriage. It was said that he secretly married couples to save the men from going to war. Another story was that he cured a woman of her blindness and signed a letter to her “your Valentine”. No one knows for sure which of the many stories about St. Valentine are true.

In the 1500s, St. Valentine’s Day was made an official holiday in England. It was later spread to the Americas by early settlers. In the late 1700s, printed cards became popular. The tradition continued into the 1800s because of the mass production of cards. This was made possible by the Industrial Revolution. In a letter from the 1850s, Sarah Brown of Williamson County, Tennessee wrote to her sister. Her sister was attending school at Minerva College in Davidson County.  She wrote about the fun things she was doing and what was happening at home.  She also wrote about having a “sweetheart” and sending and receiving Valentines. Today, people still send Valentine gifts to the one’s they love.

On this day of celebration of love, we wish you a day filled with love, re connection to loved ones and joy spread all around you.