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Interesting Valentine’s Day Facts
February 14, 270 A.D. : Roman Emperor Claudius II, dubbed “Claudius the Cruel,” beheaded a priest named Valentine for performing marriage ceremonies. Claudius II had outlawed marriages when Roman men began refusing to go to war in order to stay with their wives. Hallmark has over 1330 different cards specifically for Valentine’s Day. Humorous valentines of the 19th century were called “Vinegar Valentines” or “Penny Dreadfuls.” Vinegar Valentines were introduced in 1858 by John McLaughin, a Scotsman with a New York City Publishing Business. Penny Dreadfuls with comic designs drawn in 1870 by American cartoonists Charles Howard became known as Penny Dreadfuls. In 1929 in Chicago, gunmen in the suspected employment of organized-crime boss Al Capone murder seven members of the George “Bugs” Moran North Siders gang in a garage on North Clark Street. The so-called St. Valentine’s Day Massacre stirred a media storm centered on Capone and his illegal Prohibition-era activities and motivated federal authorities to redouble their efforts to find evidence incriminating enough to take him off the streets. In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling. In the United States, 64 percent of men do not make plans in advance for a romantic Valentine’s Day with their sweethearts. In Victorian times it was considered bad luck to sign a Valentine’s Day card. In Wales, wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were most used decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, “You unlock my heart!” It wasn’t until 1537 that St. Valentine’s Day was declared an official holiday. England’s King Henry VIII declared February 14th a holiday. On February 14, 1779, Captain James Cook, the great English explorer and navigator, was murdered by natives of Hawaii during his third visit to the Pacific island group. One single perfect red rose framed with baby’s breath is referred to by some florists as a “signature rose,” and is the preferred choice for many for giving on Valentine’s Day, anniversary, or birthday. Only the U.S., Canada, Mexico, France, Australia and the U.K. celebrate
Valentine’s Day
. Sir Alexander Fleming was a young bacteriologist when an accidental discovery led to one of the great developments of modern medicine. Having left a plate of staphylococcus bacteria uncovered, Fleming noticed that a mold that had fallen on the culture had killed many of the bacteria. He identified the mold as penicillium notatum, similar to the kind found on bread. On February 14, 1929, Fleming introduced his mold by-product called penicillin to cure bacterial infections.
You are my harbor,
My port in the storm.
Your heart is my safety;
Your love keeps me warm.
When tossed on the waves
Or adrift, full of pain,
I know in your love
I will be home again.
Your embrace is my haven.
Forever I’ll know
Your refuge will hold me
Where ever I go.
And know in your heart,
That you have all my love.
You’re my hero, my shelter,
My gift from above.
I look at you, and I thank God the day
you came into my life.
You are the anchor that keeps me
grounded in a world gone awry.
You are the sun shining through the clouds
at the end of my storm.
You are embodiment of everything
good in my life.
And because I don’t always
get the chance to say it.
I wanted to let you know in a special way.
that I love you,
now, always and forever
