The Peryls of Valentines Day

Lots of early Christian martyrs were named Valentine.  The Saints honoured on February 14^th are Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni and many legends surround them.  During my extensive research (wikipedia) I have found that these dudes were champions of the underdog and thus died horribly (think stoning, beheading).  In short  - I like them.

Valentines Day first became associated with love in the Middle Ages and by the 15^th Century had become a day to woo the object of your desire with flowers, sweeties and greetings cards.  Greeting's cards in the 15^th century!  Who knew?!

It's fair to say that not much has changed since these traditions were established, apart from the fact that we now have mass produced cards that appear in the shops the day after Christmas and are repeatedly bashed round the head with adverts. 

Yes, it's easy to sneer at it's commercialism and be a miserable bastard who doesn't even bother with a card but you know what?  Love isn't easy these days.  Finding and sustaining a relationship requires effort.  What doesn't take effort is walking into a shop to buy a card.  As an added bonus, you will feel warm and fuzzy (especially if you write something rude).