Happy St Valentine's Day (but is it true)?

Happy St Valentine's day! but is it true that under the current calendar of the Catholic Church it should be celebrated on November 11th? ...That would really feck Hallmark up wouldn't it. St Valentine is not only the patron Saint of Lovers but also the Patron saint of greetings card manufacturers. I would call this very serendipitous considering the amount of cards that will be bought for this one day.

Come to think of it he is also the Patron saint of the plague and epilepsy. Now no matter how sagely,old and wise I may sound at times I am not old enough to remember anyone with plague ...but epilepsy is close to my heart. The times I have felt myself getting agitated or upset by someone and felt the nerves in my hand,then my arm right up to my face dance about uncontrollably is more than I can remember. The mantra then is "No Please don't pass out, don't pass out!" On the surface apparently at this stage I look quite calm, (perhaps maybe more intense than usual ... well I am concentrating on my mantra). If memory serves me right a grand mal seizure when you're passed out on the floor and jigging about uncontrollably is far from calm. If onlookers find it frightening and upsetting think about the poor person writhing about on the floor (that was usually me). ...Thank God we have St Valentine,  Do you think Hallmark should make a Happy Valentine's day card with  the message..'.Hope this year is plague free...or epilepsy free' as well as 'To my darling Valentine'?

To my darling valentine. I have a theory about why he out of all the saints became the patron saint of lovers. It has more to do with fertility than to do with romance. Don't talk to me about romance. Romance is the stuff of nightmares, when it comes to partners their idea of romance or what it means to be 'romantic' sets you on a helter skelter path of failure. It doesn't matter how heartfelt your declarations are or what you try to do. A bunch of flowers, a card or something totally extravagant, everything, anything will ultimately fail...You discover when you reach forty something there is really no pleasing people so it is best to just please yourself and on that note I have noticed I am digressing!

All I know about St Valentine is that he was beaten up, imprisoned and then beheaded by the Romans for being a Christian not very romantic I'd say! Not too terribly surprising either considering the times he was living in. It was the 3rd century and the Christians were into martyrdom in those days, that's what made Saints. So anyway back to my theory.

In 496 Pope Gelasius set aside The pagan festival of Lupercalia dedicated to Juno the Goddess of women and fertility as the day to honor Valentine. A lot of Saints days are celebrated  around the same time as pagan festivals. It was easier for them to hijack an existing festival than to try and be imaginative. Anyway I think the pagans had something because I have come to the conclusion that February the 14th is the most popular birthday on the calendar. Valentine being a Catholic and Catholics are off course into procreation being a blessed and loving thing; love and romance are joined at the hip (especially for the young). So voila Valentine becomes the head honcho for love. Sweet!

It is not a scientific conclusion by no means, it is just that off  the top of my head I know five people who are Valentines babies. Are any of them romantic? Can you hear me laughing? Anyway, it just seems a fairly high proportion of people that I know all share the one birthday and that day happens to be February 14th. Makes a bit of sense to me, May is obviously a loving month and February is when we should celebrate  what we got up to back then. Juno the Goddess blesses us, we celebrate, the Christians come along gave the day to their guy Valentine. People around the world get lovey dovey for a day, greeting cards  sales soar and everyone is happy. My theory may not be scientific but I think it is sound.

The first Valentines greeting was sent by a Frenchman Charles Duke of Orleans to his wife in 1415. He spent 25 years in the Tower Of London after the Battle of Agincourt. All I can say is God help the poor woman. I hope she had plenty of diversions

The notion that Valentines day is the day that the birds mate originated in the 14th century. The idea is attributed to a Chaucer poem and finally did you know that St Valentine's 'remains' were lost? The fact that no-one really knows who he was is neither here nor there (there were a few Valentine Martyrs around about his time). Never the less his 'remains' ended up in Ireland -where we promptly lost them. (We're a race that looks after our religious and romantic heritage). He was lost in a church in Dublin for ever so long a time...turned up in  the back of a cupboard. Makes you wonder what else was up there and I for one will not chide myself anymore for losing things.....Most likely they'll be laying up the back of a cupboard.  And at least we can pat ourselves on the back, after all no-one flushed him down the loo.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone May you be plague free

Happy Valentine's Day May all your fits be little ones

Happy Valentines Day to all you sweetheart romantics

And Happy Birthday to the Valentine babies