Valentine's day -- a day of love

Every February 14, around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint, and where did these traditions come from?

The Legend of St. Valentine

The history of Valentine's Day--and the story of its patron saint--is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl--possibly his jailor's daughter--who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and--most importantly--romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.

                                         Approximately 150 million Valentine's Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine's Day the second most popular card-sending holiday after Christmas.

 Leave it once it will be left forever... Get it once it'll be yours forever... It's nothing but LOVE! LOVE only once and you'll be loved forever.

Valentine's Day: A Day of Romance
Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity and but was outlawed—as it was deemed “un-Christian”--at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine's Day should be a day for romance.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.) Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

" To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever. "

Valentine's Day Romance
 Valentine's day is a day for people in love. The day is quickly approaching. It is a chance to celebrate and spice up the relation between you and your beloved. It is commonly observed that after few months or a year of the relation, love and passion between the couple starts loosing the actuality and charm. It leads only to work, house responsibilities, a little chat with the mate but there is hardly any place left for romance in your daily life. This special day brings in the special feeling and importance for each other.

 There are hundreds of great ideas to express and cherish the relation you share. Its only a matter of finding one that is perfect for you and your sweetheart. This is a great day to put all the worries and excuses apart from an evening or a day to show the love that you professed.

" Love is the flower you've got to let grow "

Importance of Valentine's Day Romance
 Romance gives feeling of togetherness, warmth and care. It helps in making the relation more stronger and understandable. Every couple wishes their love life to be a breathtaking experience. Romance creates a bond of trust and love. Romance creates love, affection, respect and admiration for one another. It can be emotional as well as physical. Valentines day romance brings an annual chance to make the tender relationship even more stronger.

 If that charm and excitement of love in your life has lost, then you can try some simple ideas. Be attentive, careful, polite and considerate to put in that fashionable-lover effect in your romance. This recreates a decorum for yourself. It is an undoubted fact that life without romance is very dull and boring. Romance is more like a continuous, interesting and a must activity. Valentines day make you realize the importance of romance in life.

" Love is when you meet someone who tells you something new about yourself. "

How to Make Valentine's Day Romantic?
 Make your day full of passion and excitement. Let her feel the warmth and create a romantic and most memorable valentines day. Following are few creative ways to express your love.

• Give your lover a dozen of red roses.
• Prepare a romantic meal for your loved one.
• Start your day by complementing him/her on a piece of paper and put it beside the pillow.
• When your mate is in shower, take the towel and dry his wet body. It is a way to make all the old memories alive.
• Hold hands of your partner in public and announce your love.
• Make a copy of your wedding photo, put it in a special frame and write the words, "I love you more today than yesterday,"
• Spend as much time possible together and tell all your love secrets.
• Dedicate a song to him/her on the radio and send him/her an email telling him when to listen.
• Look at you beloved when he/she is engaged in doing some work. The continuous look of yours directly touches the soul and make them feel special.
• Make a card by your own and compose a poem that expresses your love life.
• Create a scrapbook with favorite photographs, love letters and other cherished moments.
• Prepare your loved one’s favorite dinner and serve it on a romantically set table and dine by candlelight.
• If you want to propose at home, sprinkle rose petals around the house. Place heart-shaped candles around your home to create the right mood.

Thoughts On Relationships

With what kind of people do you most like to be with? Who makes you feel the best? In whose presence do you enjoy being the most?

If you carefully observe and analyze your attitudes and the feeling that you have in their presence, you would probably find something common and would come to some of the following conclusions:

• In their presence you feel that you are totally accepted as you are. They give you the opportunity to be yourself. They do not put expectations on you. You can express yourself, your inner being in safety and assurance that all will be OK. Because you feel that they will not condemn you or get upset.
• They genuinely interested in your wellbeing and challenge you to be the best and the greatest you can be and that lifts you up and inspires you.
• In their presence you feel good about yourself and full of hope.
• You do not feel manipulated, controlled or forced to do or be anything than what you want to be. You have complete freedom.

When we experience some of the above in our fellowship with this kind of a person we are often overwhelmed by a certain kind of indescribable feeling and we call it love. And in that moment there is something within us that wants to mirror this experience back to that person and others.

Observe the people that you believe are in love and you will see that the more above points they experience the more in love they appear. And if you want to have a similar experience then do what you can to make the other person feel good about themselves and most likely they will do the same for you. They will mirror back the same kind of pleasure you give them. Try it, begin with a smile especially to those that know you and will not think you have become crazy.

Expectations
How do you respond to those who put expectations on you? And why do we expect when we suffer from our expectations so much? Have you noticed?

We learn in our childhood that it is better to fulfill the expectations of those around us and as parents we enforce our expectations on our children. Often it is done automatically without thinking and if we do we reason, that we know what is best for them and besides our expectations help us to keep the house running easier.

When children know what is expected of them, like what time to go to bed and if they do not live up to our expectations then they know that there will be unpleasant consequences. So, we get used to living up to other people's expectations and learn how to enforce our own on others. And before we know it and without realizing we become slaves to our own and other people's expectations.

Those who live under our expectations; do they enjoy being prisoners to them? Do we need to live under the expectations that we live under? Have we matured enough to leave our childish behavior?

Let us take responsibility for our own responses. Others may never give up their unreasonable expectations of us unless we clearly let them know that we have matured enough to live the way we see it best no matter how upset they get.