Cupcakes and Valentines

So... guess what I did today?

Well, yes, I made cupcakes. But that really has much more to do with yumminess than scholarliness.

So what else?

Aha! There we go. Yes, I made a ton of valentines to send to my husband's platoon. And you know what? It got me thinking about mythologies. I know Valentine's Day is still a couple of weeks away, but perhaps now would be a good time to start thinking about the mythology surrounding it...

We all know the holiday as that huge deal every February where single persons particularly crave to be in a relationship while those persons in a relationship particularly crave having the foggiest clue as to what to give their significant other. We traditionally send and receive cards of love -- oftentimes requesting all sorts of people we barely know to "be my valentine". It's quite joyous, lots of roses, pink and red decorations...

chocolate. :)

But do we really know the origins of our traditions? Does anyone truly know for certain? The answer? No. Not in the slightest. Even the oh-so-knowledgeable History Channel will tell you that it is  "shrouded in mystery". So do we leave it at that? Do we just say, "Oh well," and continue on with our mindless existence?

Of course not! We are human. We are driven to understand. We long for closure. We form a myth about this really great guy named Valentine back in ancient Rome who continued to perform marriage ceremonies even after the emperor of the time had banned them (because, of course, as we all know marriage distracts a man and makes him far less suitable as a bold and courageous warrior). We romanticize this wonderful man's story and tell how, once he had been thrown into prison (for his wildly heinous crime of aiding star-crossed lovers) he sent sweet notes from his cell and signed them "From your Valentine". We even refer to this man as Saint Valentine and, it is said, continue on in his pro-love campaign to this day.

Because we are awesome like that. I love humankind.

And I love St. Valentines Day. It's a fabulous excuse to make up adorable little cards of love and joy and pass them out to absolutely anyone. Way cool. :)