Valentine's Day

Well, it's coming up. Lucky us.

It's that special time of the year when lonely people reflect on their loneliness while couples parade around in smug complacency.

Or, if you're coming from the other side, it's that special time of the year when single people enjoy the thrill of freedom and possibility while couples despondently hide away in their sad routines remembering brighter days, back when their relationships were vibrant and new.

(You see what I did there? I took the glass is half-empty sorts from the single life, and I took the glass if half empty sorts from the couple life, and then I combined them to form a full glass of cynicism)

But I kid. It's actually not a bad time of the year.

Relationships deserve a holiday. I know it's fun to make fun of all the pomp of Valentine's Day, but the holiday does serve a purpose. It's important to pause and remember the relationships that are important to us. Especially when you consider that the people that mean the most are usually the most neglected. Often, they are so integral to our lives they become as commonplace as furniture.

So, it's good that there is a holiday (even if it's an overly marketed and guilt-ridden holiday) that asks us to put a little extra love and attention into the people that are so essential they go unnoticed.

Also, if you even for a second thing it's a lame holiday you gotta remember St. Valentine. That guy was awesome. He was a roman priest who would marry two Christians when this was against the law. The emperor (Claudius I think) had Valentine arrested for this, and rather than apologizing and saying, "Christian what? Where?" he tried to CONVERT the emperor!

In addition to being courageous bordering on reckless, he also worked a few miracles. You're no doubt aware of the tradition of valentine notes. Well, this tradition supposedly dates back to the night when Valentine, who was in prison, healed the blindness of his jailer's daughter. When he was moved from the prison he wrote the girl a kind note signed, "Your Valentine."

Of course, saints are usually martyrs and, sadly, Valentine is no exception. Earlier I mentioned that he tried to convert the emperor...well, that didn't go down so well and the emperor ordered his death. At first they ineffectually stoned him, but when that didn't work they decapitated him.

So, think about it, we got a guy healing people, winning and wedding hearts, too tough to die by stoning, and who is ultimately decapitated. This guy was a rock star.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is this: Valentine's day is important and should be celebrated. If you want to celebrate his day historically, your best bet is to find the person you love, give them a kind note expressing your affection, and then cuddle up and watch Highlander together (for the uninitiated, Highlander is a movie where a lot of heads get chopped off St. Valentine style).

If you want to celebrate the holiday unhistorically you could eat chocolate, watch the latest romcom, and stare into each other's eyes.

Whatever floats your boat.