So it's Valentines Day here in Melbourne. I've always considered Valentines day to be manufactured by the chocolate companies, feeding off of the romantic impulses of couples in westernized socieites, but maybe it's because I'm single. :)
Here is a Wikapedia version of the Golden Legend of St. Valentine:
The Legenda Aurea of Jacobus de Voragine, compiled about 1260 and one of the most-read books of the High Middle Ages, gives sufficient details of the saints for each day of the liturgical year to inspire a homily on each occasion. The very brief vita of St Valentine has him refusing to deny Christ before the "Emperor Claudius"[18] in the year 280. Before his head was cut off, this Valentine restored sight and hearing to the daughter of his jailer. Jacobus makes a play with the etymology of "Valentine", "as containing valour"
So it seems that all this love-stuffs that are marketed towards the masses on this day, are actually the wrong kind of love. Maybe it should be more about loving our enemies, loving humanity and loving life more than buying our boyfriends and girlfriends some chocolate.
Although, I have to admit, my favorite part of Valentine's day is the day after: massive sales on chocolate.
Happy Valentine's Day!
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