Wednesday, February 14, 2007


The 3 Legends of St. Valentine

Legend #1
The priest Valentine was arrested and put into prison. He was incarcerated because he did not worship the Roman gods. After being in prison for many years, he was presented to Claudius II (known as Claudius the Cruel). Valentine stood by his convictions and still refused to worship any other but his God. Claudius II was outraged. The ruler sealed Valentine's fate and condemned him to die.

In the meantime, Valentine had become friends with one of the prison guard’s daughters who was blind. Valentine sent her a note before he was martyred. When the girl opened the note, her sight was restored. She could read the signature of the person who had signed the note. The note was signed "from your Valentine."

Legend #2
Claudius II was interested in building a great army. He recognized that married men would not make effective soldiers because they would be concerned about their wives and families. To stem this problem, Claudius II forbade young couples to marry. Valentine had great empathy for the young couples who wanted to marry. He chose to marry couples in secret. However, Valentine's service was discovered and he was put to death for breaking the law.

Legend #3
Mr. Hallmark was looking to make a quick buck during the cold, dreadful month of February and entice buffoons like me to trod out to his store on the 13th during a blizzard in search of the perfect Valentine. True story: I’m in the Hallmark store yesterday- you know the 13th- and this elderly gentleman scampers in and hollers at the clerk, “Where do you keep the cards for someone whose been married to the same dame for 120 years?” I about fell over backwards laughing.

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

No comments: