Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you had something fun happen. I don't necessarily love this holiday, but I'm not one of the VDay haters who rails against it either. I just figure it's a good day to tell loved ones you love them.
Though the holiday doesn't fascinate me that much, its history does. Like most major holidays there are multiple theories regarding its origins. According to NPR the holiday originated in Ancient Rome as a multi-day love fest. Men would sacrifice animals then beat women with the dead animal skins. Romantic, right?
The name of the holiday might have come from a weird coincidence: Emperor Claudius II executed 2 different men named Valentin on Feb. 13th in two different years. Then the Catholic Church decided to martyr them and the name St. Valentine.
The cheesy card sharing, candy eating, and flower giving really took off once Hallmark got involved. I didn't know Hallmark was from KC- that's neat! One more successful thing to come out of the Mid. West.
NPR states that Valentine's Day sales are averaging around 17 billion dollars a year.
That's a lot of money being spent to say "I Love You"
Dark Origins of V-Day
Recently some funny variations on the theme have popped up, thanks to Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. On Parks and Rec Amy's character hosts a yearly "Gal-entine's Day", where she gathers all the women in her life who inspire her together for a giant love-in.
Galentine's Day Clip
Meanwhile, Liz Lemon rejects the traditions and hangups of VDay in place of "Anna Howard Shaw Day", the famed suffragette.
I couldn't find a related clip, so here's Liz dancing.
Happy Valentine's Day!
No comments:
Post a Comment