Dear Friends,

There are two types of people in this world: those who celebrate Valentine’s Day, and those who don’t.

Those who choose not to acknowledge this holiday aren’t always people who have not yet been stung by Cupid’s arrow (more on that later). Many who treat today like any other are often realists who genuinely don’t believe in showing love and affection on this one specific day. There are, of course, those tainted by love who just want to look the other way. Understandable.

The history buff inside of me couldn’t help but do some research on all things love related, starting with our dear friend, and sometimes nemesis, Cupid.

Immediately you are thinking of the cute baby cherub with a bow and arrow, flying around in a toga. That’s not entirely accurate. This cherub actually dates back to 700 B.C. and went by the name Eros. While his lineage is under some debate, the bow and arrow part is true. While we like to think that getting hit with Cupid’s arrow means we fell in love, Eros was a bit of a troublemaker and used his powers to play with Gods and mortals alike.

He could easily make a God fall in love with anyone and could also compel others to rebuff the love given. One of the most famous instances of this was when Eros shot an arrow at the God Apollo, who fell in love with a nymph name Daphne. Eros shot Daphne with a laden arrow to repulse Apollo’s affection for all eternity. Lots of fun for Eros, not so much for Apollo.

Eros is legendary to a few more love entanglements including his own with the beautiful mortal named Psyche. Basically, his mom (if we agree that his mother was Aphrodite) wanted Psyche to fall in love with a monster because she was jealous of her beauty. Instead, Eros fell in love with her and while their story is very Greek, full of drama, it eventually worked out. Maybe not for Aphrodite, but love prevailed. Eventually Eros became the legend Cupid that we have come to know and love. Cherub cheeks and all.

There are two different men who are accredited with being THE St. Valentine that his holiday hails from. One helped illegally marry those in love during a ban on marriage and the other is a man who helped Christians escape from Rome and died for his cause. Both men did extraordinary things in the name of love, so thanks to them for their sacrifice and for inspiring this holiday.

The first real “valentine” was sent from a prison. That’s right. It was sent by a French medieval duke named Charles to his wife in 1415. Charles was being held in the Tower of London (not a very nice place) and in a poem to her he wrote: "I am already sick of love, My very gentle Valentine." You probably need to read the whole poem to see the romance of this message, but regardless the first official “Valentine” was born.

Speaking of Valentine’s Day cards … according to Hallmark, Americans send over 145 million Valentine’s Day cards each year and according to the US Greeting Card Association, that number is closer to 190 million. What I don’t know is if that number includes the little Valentine’s kids give at school?

If you have small children or grandchildren, you know these very well. While I love how excited the kids get each year about giving and receiving Valentine’s Day cards, as a parent it can be a nightmare. Especially when your kids are little and can’t fill them all out on their own. As they get older, and writing skills improve, it gets a little easier, but have you tried getting a 5-year-old to sit long enough to fill out 25 cards? Their attention span does not last that long. And if you are a super busy parent and you wait until the last minute to get the cards it’s you that is sitting up late at night trying to get each one written out.

I am no Pinterest Mom. While I appreciate the parents who have the creativity to make 25 individual gifts, cute little packages, and personalized teacher gifts, I have no time or patience for that. My kids were lucky to get a box of pre-made, easy to rip apart Valentine’s Day cards that maybe had a candy attached to it. If you are one of these remarkable unicorn parents, I apologize that you sent years of these incredibly creative, beautiful, hand-crafted gifts and all your kid got from my kid was half written out Valentine with a Hershey Kiss taped to it.

I have one more fun fact for you about Valentine’s Day cards and it’s about the darker side of love.

Between 1840 and 1910 you could have received, not a love poem or card showering you with affection, but something called a “Vinegar Valentine”, otherwise known as the “Penny Dreadful”. These sarcastic and rude cards only cost a penny and were sent to turn away unwanted suitors and love interests.

If you want a bit of a laugh, check out the website unmaskedhistory.com and search this topic. There are some horrible examples of cards that were sent during this time. Imagine getting a card from a potential love interest only to have it say “Tis a lemon that I hand you and bid you now skidoo. Because I love another there is no chance for you”. Talk about an arrow straight to the heart! These penny dreadful cards became so nasty and rude that a post office in Chicago refused to deliver over 20,000 of them because of how horrible they were. There was even a story of a woman in New York City that drank laudanum and died after receiving one. After this story got out the vinegar valentines dissolved the holiday was saved.

Whether you have a romantic night ahead or maybe thinking about sending your own penny dreadful, have a fabulous day and remember, chocolate fixes almost anything.

Be well,

Kerri

The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views and positions of any entity that this author represents.