There is an enlightening article about Valentine’s Day over at The Writers Almanac website today, but it is copyrighted and I cannot reproduce it here. I can give you a link, though.
When you get there (if you go there), if it is no longer February 14th you must click “PREV” enough times to display what was posted on February 14th, scroll down to “Today is Valentine’s Day” and click “...more” to see the entire article.
The Writer’s Almanac article says that there were three Saint Valentines. This article from Wikipedia says there were fourteen.
If you prefer a more traditional Valentine, it’s double stamp day over at the blog of Pat - An Arkansas Stamper. That’s a little joke that only those of you who go and have a look will understand.
That Writer’s Almanac article says that last year the average person spent $103 on Valentine’s gifts, food, and entertainment, which was lower than average because of the recession. Men spent an average of $135 and women $72. I’m assuming these figures are for the United States. I am not one of the big spenders, but it doesn’t mean I love Mrs. RWP any the less. I simply don’t appreciate it when the sellers of flowers and chocolate and diamond necklaces try to tell me what I ought to give my wife. This year I gave her a nice card and a heart-shaped chocolate-chip cookie that was decorated with yellow roses, her favorite kind (the recession has managed to hit around here too). Based on our household outlay, some people have had to spend a small fortune just to keep the average up.
A lovely Lupercalia to you all.
I had already visited the Writers Almanac before coming here, Bob (an almost treasonable action, I know, but I put that link in my 'About Writing' folder and your blog in 'U.S. Blogs' and 'A' comes before 'U'.) I read the article on St. Valentine. Perhaps those old saints knew when they had a good thing going when it came to names.
ReplyDeleteI certainly skew the average of the dollars spent on Valentine's Day gifts. My grand total this year, so far, is $0.00 -- not even a cookie with a yellow rose. But, the day is not over until it's over.
Thanks for posting the link to my blog. "... double stamp day" indeed; you clever fellow!
Happy Valentine's Day.
Oh just a nice hug and kiss is good enough. You can't measure love in one day. Its every day, year in and year out that counts.
ReplyDeleteValentines is a state of mind.:)
Pat, this must mean that some people spend thousands of dollars on V-Day.
ReplyDeleteLady, Valentine is a state of mind helped along by the flower industry, the greeting card industry, the candy industry, the movie industry, the restaurant industry, the jewelry industry. Shall I go on? It is also the middle name of my good friend, Ernie Cziraky.