St. Valentine's Day Post

An Historical Perspective on Valentine's Day
According to various sources, St. Valentine was a 3rd or 4th century priest who may have helped young lovers marry against the decree of the Romans.
For this, Valentinus was imprisoned and eventually executed by Claudius II.
And there was almost certainly more than one Valentine.

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from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Valentine
Saint Valentine (in Latin, Valentinus) is a widely recognized third-century Roman saint commemorated on February 14 and associated since the High Middle Ages with a tradition of courtly love. Nothing is reliably known of St. Valentine except his name and the fact that he died on February 14 on Via Flaminia in the north of Rome. It is uncertain whether St. Valentine is to be identified as one saint or two saints of the same name. Several different martyrologies have been added to later hagiographies that are unreliable. For these reasons this liturgical commemoration was not kept in the Catholic calendar of saints for universal liturgical veneration as revised in 1969.[2]
But the "Martyr Valentinus who died on the 14th of February on the Via Flaminia close to the Milvian bridge in Rome" still remains in the list of officially recognized saints for local veneration.[3] Saint Valentine's Church in Rome, built in 1960 for the needs of the Olympic Village, continues as a modern, well-visited parish church.
Today, Saint Valentine's Day, also known as the Feast of Saint Valentine, is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion,[4] as well as in the Lutheran Church.[5] In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Saint Valentine the Presbyter is celebrated on July 6[6] and Hieromartyr Saint Valentine (Bishop of Interamna, Terni in Italy) is celebrated on July 30.[7] Notwithstanding, because of the relative obscurity of this western saint in the East, members of the Greek Orthodox Church named Valentinos (male) or Valentina (female) may celebrate their name day on the Western ecclesiastical calendar date of February 14.[8]

The inconsistency in the identification of the saint is replicated in the various vitae that are ascribed to him. A commonly ascribed hagiographical identity appears in the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493). Alongside a woodcut portrait of Valentine, the text states that he was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius II, known as Claudius Gothicus. He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Helping Christians at this time was considered a crime. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner – until Valentinus tried to convert the Emperor – whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stones; when that failed to kill him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate. Various dates are given for the martyrdom or martyrdoms: 269, 270, or 273.[16]

Another popular hagiography describes Saint Valentine as the former Bishop of Terni, a city in southern Umbria, in what is now central Italy. While under house arrest of Judge Asterius, and discussing his faith with him, Valentinus (the Roman pronunciation of his name) was discussing the validity of Jesus. The judge put Valentinus to the test and brought to him the judge's adopted blind daughter. If Valentinus succeeded in restoring the girl's sight, Asterius would do anything he asked. Valentinus laid his hands on her eyes and the child's vision was restored. Immediately humbled, the judge asked Valentinus what he should do. Valentinus replied that all of the idols around the judge's house should be broken, the judge should fast for three days, and then undergo baptism. The judge obeyed and as a result, freed all the Christian inmates under his authority. The judge, his family and forty others were baptized.[17] Valentinus was later arrested again for continuing to serve Jesus and was sent to the prefect of Rome, to the emperor Claudius himself. Claudius took a liking to him until Valentinus tried to lead Claudius to Jesus, whereupon Claudius refused and condemned Valentinus to death, commanding that Valentinus either renounce his faith or he would be beaten with clubs, and beheaded. Valentinus refused and Claudius' command was executed outside the Flaminian Gate February 14, 269.[18]
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Various St. Valentine's parts are on display at:

St. Valentine's skull is on display at Basilica of Santa Maria in Rome.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/st-valentines-skull

St. Valentine's shoulder blade is on display at Church of Saints Paul and Peter in Prague.  
(I've been to St. Paul & Peter's church in Prague - I saw no shoulder blades.)
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/st-valentines-shoulder-blade

St. Valentine's skeletal remains (minus skull and shoulder blade?) are on display at Blessed St John Duns Scotus in Glasgow.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/st-valentines-bones-glasgow

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Valentine's Day as a relationship "field sobriety test"

In the western world today, the Valentine's Day date is typically used as a Pass/Fail Field Sobriety Test for men in committed relationships.
If you're a guy in a relationship and you put together a nice, romantic Valentine's night complete with dinner, gifts, cards, flowers, maybe a little dancin', maybe a couple drinks, then maybe you might have bought yourself  3-5 days of a more or less pleasant woman, who will possibly sleep with you 2.3 times during that 5 day run.

A bad Valentine's date ?
Let's not talk about it.

As an "adult" male that was married for nearly a decade and who has been dating for nearly a decade, I can't possibly account for all of the dollars I've sunk into treating my particular betrothed like an heavenly angel for the one, special eve of the year in the hopes of:
A.) Not freaking hearing about it for the rest of the f@#ing year if I got it wrong!!!
2.)  see "A" above.

In nearly 20 years of married and or dating life I don't recall a single Valentine's Day in which I was showered with gifts, lavished with love, bathed, shaved, oiled, and put to bed with a steak and a "beej".
Nor, do I recall ever hearing of such from any of my male friends.
Doesn't happen.
This her night.
And yours - to get right or to screw up.

(See also - Mother's Day, her Birthday, New Year's Eve, Memorial Day, Arbor Day, Labor Day, etc.)
(Guys get the 4th of July - the one day we can get drunk and blow shit up like we want to do.)


But, if it's really bad and you find yourself single, you may want to check out this museum:
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/museum-of-broken-relationships

The Museum of Broken Relationships in Croatia.

from Atlas Obscura:

We all have different ways of dealing with the mementos left behind when a love is lost. Unable to let go, some of us hide the barrettes he gave us before he left town to “find himself” in a ornate box under the bed, while others burn photos taken of her before she was caught texting a “friend.” The most mundane items in the world suddenly represent everything that might have been.

When Croatian artists Olinka Vistina and Drazen Grubisic separated, their reluctance to part with the sentimental reminders of their fizzled love inspired them to open the Museum of Broken Relationships, so that the items could remain together.

At first glance, this concept may seem to contradict healthy healing, but the idea took off, and while the museum was on tour, people from all over began to donate their reminders of heartbreak. Now the museum has a permanent home in Croatia, and contains a fascinating collection of former tokens of affection. Besides the anticipated teddy bears and letters, the collection also includes a few poignant and sometimes unsettling surprises -- a tiny bottle filled with a woman's tears, an axe and taser gun, and perhaps the strangest offering, a prosthetic leg.

As melancholy of a subject as it may seem, the museum is quite popular -- be it voyeurism, purification, or just the acknowledgment that the lonely feeling of heart sickness is universal, over 1,000 people a week visit the collection.