Eric Bergen

As most guys, I have never really been a big fan of Valentines Day. Instead of a rant I decided to do a bit of research to see just where this holiday came from and how it got turned into the big competition it is today. There has to be a dark secret somewhere, right?

Yes.

Well not entirely dark but it is creepy none the less. It seems there are a few different legends about St. Valentine. One involves him being a martyr because he performed forbidden marriages for young couples. Young men were supposed to be single so they could fight in the army. Think draft dodger. The first Valentine was sent by him, from his prison cell, to a young woman that he loved.

Other legends involve spring ceremonies of fertility where young men would cut goat hide into strips dip them in sacrificial blood. They would then run around gently slapping women and crops with the goat hide. The women didn’t mind because it was supposed to make them more fertile for the year.

This starts to be replaced by exchanging hand written notes around the 18th century. Which is fine until the corporations get involved. Who would want to hand write a personal note when they can be cranked off a press for you? Not me. The jewelery companies became involved and we now have the spectacle that exists today. The longer you are in a relationship the more extravigent the gifts are supposed to become. We have to keep outdoing ourselves every year.

I would prefer to chase chicks around with a blood soaked goat hide strip than pay $50 for a dozen stale roses or some hip widening chocolate. How about you?

This entry was posted on Monday, February 14th, 2005 at 10:42 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.