Valentine's Day… A Day To Celebrate The Ones We Love

Hello Spinal Column readers. It seems it is that time of year again. Love is in the air as Valentine’s Day is quick and approaching.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and in every store red, pink and white decorates the aisles. It is obvious that the holiday is celebrated by retail stores, but what about everyone else?

Jon Stewart called Valentine’s Day “A manufactured day that really doesn’t mean anything,” presenting a severe point of view on the subject. The meaning behind Valentine’s Day is still there, even if it is lost in a jungle of candy hearts and sparkly jewelry.

There are several stories about where Valentine’s Day came from. According to the History Channel, one story is of Emperor Claudius II, who believed that single men made better soldiers and outlawed marriage for young men during the third century in Rome. Valentine, a priest, disagreed and continued to marry young lovers in secret. When Claudius discovered Valentine’s secret, he ordered that Valentine be put to death.

Another story suggests that Valentine was killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons. The imprisoned Valentine sent the first “valentine,” to his jailor’s daughter, whom he had fallen in love with, and ended the note “From your Valentine.”

This might ease those notions that Valentine’s Day is just a holiday created by Hallmark to sell more cards.

After all, it is nice to have a day dedicated to celebrating the ones we love.

I grew up with a wonderful model of love. My parents, married for over 30 years, have set for me a wonderful example of a happy marriage throughout my adult years and have lead me to say that I am happily in my own successful relationship with an old flame from high school.

Indeed it is the ones we are surrounded with everyday that set the examples of love for us, not Hollywood and characters like Edward and Bella or Romeo and Juliet, even with how painfully romantic those stories may be.

So in light of the approaching holiday, I remind all of our readers to take a look around at your loved ones and tell them that you love them, because after all, this is the holiday of love and a time to celebrate the