Happy Valentines Day!

The history of Valentines day is murky at best. There are a few "St. Valentines," and no one can agree on exactly what he did, or why he did it... But one legend is as follows:

During the third century in Rome, Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with a wife and children, so he outlawed marriage for all young men eligible to serve in the army. St. Valentine was a priest living in those times, and, realizing the injustice of the Emperor's decree, continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Emperor Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Wondering about that little naked winged kid who shoots you in the tush with an arrow? You probably know him as Cupid, right? Well only to the Romans was he Cupid, the son of Venus. To the Greeks he was Eros, the son of Aphrodite. There's no difference really. He's the same being, just different names in different mythologies - the son of the Goddess of Love. Basically he fell in love with a mortal woman named (of all things) Psyche. She misbehaved though, and he left her. His mother (pick either of the above names ;)) punished Psyche, by testing her. She failed, but because she loved cupid so much, they revived Psyche and made her a Goddess too. So everybody lived and loved happily ever after...

There ya go, the history of Valentines day in a nutshell :). I wish I actually had a Valentine, but seeing as I find myself without one... Happy Valentines day to y'all! May you be blessed to find love at the right time, in the right place, with the right person! If by some twist of fate, one of you out there was trying desperately to find a way to send me a Valentine, you can just post a comment here ;).

My love to all of you.