Musings From My Heart's Canvas...

Wishing everyone a very happy Valentine's Day...ya i know am a day late in wishing...but i jus hope all had a good one...a really memorable one.. :)


No i am not really gonna share my Valentine's Day secrets with you...cuz being away from my sweet hubby doesnt really make any celebration worthwhile for me...but that doesnt mean i am gonna let go of this greatest celebration of Love pass by without even writing or talking about it... :)

I am so sure so many of us would have mused about the existence of a whole day to celebrate Love... and many of us would have actually delved into google and wiki to know the history of Valentines...where and how did anyone ever start to celebrate such a thing. Even i did my research aboout it and while i read thru different links on google and wiki...all i could end up with is...its just a Day for celebrating LOVE!! The greatest emotion of all... :)


I guess there are more tales about the origin of Valentines or Valentines day that there are arrows in cupid's quiver.. :) One Legend talks about a Saint named Valentine who used to perform secret marriages when the Roman Emperor Claudius II had established a rule that soldiers should remain single during their service tenure...Many more legends talk about some Saint or Priest who was executed or martyred on Feb 14th...some talk about Feb 14th as a starting date when birds come to find their mates...while others state that Valentine was a Christian who was imprisoned for his faith and while he was in sentence he fell in love with the jailors daughter...was execuuted on Feb 14th 269 A.D...and before he was executed had sent a letter to the jailor's daughter stating "From your Valentine"

The first Valentine Card is believed to have been sent by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his Wife in 1415, when he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. Its still on display at the British museum...By 1450 Valentine was the name of one's Sweetheart...By 1530 it was a folded piece of paper...In 1610 "Valentines" were gifts given to sweethearts...In the 1800's it again meant messages exchanged by couples...With so many definitions and legends for "Valentines", the next time someone asks you to be their Valentine...you might want to be sure they dont want you to be their martyr.. :)

But for sentimentals in love...even becoming a martyr for their love...just means an expression of Love...no wonder so many people were slayed/executed/burried/martyred for their Love...be it the love for their faith or for their sweetheart...We are blessed to have been born in an era where we do not have to often give up our lives to express our love...there are far more impoverished and interesting ways of doing it.. :)


When you read about Valentines day celebrations throughout the world...you can very well qoute different ways in which people around the world commemorate this great celebration of love...in some countries the lovers gift each other flowers...while in some countries they send out cakes made out of chocolate...while some countries they send out heart and cupid shaped gifts and confectionaries...while in some countries like korea...the guy gifts chocolates to their sweethearts while the girl in return gifts non chocolate candies to the man...the whole world has different ways of celebrating this great commemoration of love...but the bottomline still remains the same...celebrate LOVE...
Sadly when we read about Valentine's day celebrations in the past few years in countries like India, Pakistan etc...we can only qoute of different religious groups opposing this celebration by giving hollow reasons like its a way of contamintaing their divine culture...or spreading Christianity in a non christian dominant nation...or even things like its an unnecessary attempt of westerners to impose their culture on us etc etc...when the whole world is uniting in one simple celebration of Love...some protectors of religion/culture cant protect/support celebration of the greatest emotion in all religions...LOVE...thats irony!!!


Just hoping that this Valentine's no one has to take the martyr way to prove/express their love...cuz atleast in my view...dying to express how much u love a person is just not the done thing...one can just express their stupidity by doing so...cuz if u really love a person u will want 2 LIVE for them...to show them how beautiful their life can be with all the love u give them... :)