Editor's Note

Happy Valentine’s Day! I don’t think any other holiday stirs up more emotion than Valentine’s Day. Some of us love it, some of us hate it. Some of us think it’s only a Hallmark® holiday, while some of us go out of our way to show our significant others how much we care about them.

Since I’ve been married for a while, I feel it’s more important to show love to your husband or wife every day, rather than some grand gesture on one specific day. But don’t get me wrong, I at least want a card!

Did you know that Valentine’s Day is a very old holiday? It started back in the heyday of the Roman Empire. During this time a festival called the Lupercian was held in honor of the god of fertility. It was during this festival young men would choose and marry their mate. But when Emperor Claudis came to power, he banned marriages because he was afraid the men would refuse to leave their wives to fight during wartime. Seeing this, the Catholic Bishop Valentine started secretly marrying these couples. Claudis discovered this and Valentine was arrested and sentenced to death. While in jail, he started exchanging love letters with the jailer’s daughter. The day he was to be put to death, he signed his last note to her, ‘From Your Valentine.”

Who knew Valentine’s Day started with such tragedy? I hope your Valentine’s Day, whether you celebrate it or not, is filled with love and happiness!

What will you be doing this February 14? Is Valentine’s Day something you look forward to or wish would just go away?

Christy Wolf

Editor