And Now...For Something Completely Different...

Today, we're deviating from the usual faire, but in a good way.

We're using this day after humpday to take a look at all (or at least some) things that are Valentine's Day related.
So grab some chocolates, pull up a chair and let's get started.

For ALL the *411*,see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine

CAUTION: EDUCATIONAL ALERT!
YOU MIGHT LEARN SOMETHING!

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A (very) Brief History:
Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14. In North America and Europe, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine.

The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

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In Ancient Rome, February 15 was Lupercalia, an archaic rite connected to fertility, without overtones of romance. The word Lupercalia comes from lupus, or wolf, so the holiday may be connected with the legendary wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus. Priests of this cult, luperci would travel to the lupercal, the cave where the she-wolf who reared Romulus and Remus allegedly lived, and sacrifice animals (two goats and a dog). The blood would then be scattered in the streets, to bring fertility and keep the wolves away from the fields (ewwwwww)!

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The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of 14 February. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about him.Some sources say the Valentine linked to romance is Valentine of Rome, others say Valentine of Terni. Some scholars have concluded that the two were originally the same person. In any case, no romantic elements are present in the original Early Medieval biographies of either of these martyrs.

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The English practice of sending Valentine's cards appears in Elizabeth Gaskell's Mr. Harrison's Confessions (published 1851). Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual "Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary."
In the second half of the twentieth century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manner of gifts in the United States, usually from a man to a woman. Such gifts typically include roses and chocolates. In the 1980s, the diamond industry began to promote Valentine's Day as an occasion for giving jewelry (Don't get any ideas, ladies...not all of us are MADE of money).
The day has come to be associated with a generic platonic greeting of "Happy Valentine's Day." As a joke, Valentine's Day is also referred to as "Singles Awareness Day." In some North American elementary schools, students are asked to give a Valentine card or small gift to everyone in the class. The greeting cards of these students often mention what they appreciate about each other.

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Notable Events on this day:
1848 - James K Polk became 1st President photographed in office (Matthew Brady)
1859 - Oregon became the 33rd state in the United States.
1899 - US Congress begins using voting machines
1912 - Arizona became the 48th state in the United States.
1912 - 1st US submarines with diesel engines commissioned, Groton CT
1920 - The League of Women Voters was founded.
1929 - Members of Al Capone's gang killed rival gang members in the St. Valentine's Day massacre.
1936 - National Negro Congress organizes in Chicago
1939 - Victor Fleming replaces George Cukor as director of Gone With the Wind
1945 - 8th Air Force bombs Dresden
1954 Senator John Kennedy appears on "Meet the Press"
1962 - 1st lady Jacqueline Kennedy conducts White House tour on TV
1967 - Aretha Franklin records "Respect"
1968 - Pennsylvania Railroad/NYC Central merge into Pennsylvania Central
1971 - Movie "Ben Hur" 1st shown on television
1971 - Richard Nixon installs secret taping system in White House
1972 - John & Yoko co-host "Mike Douglas Show" for entire week1978 1st "micro on a chip" patented by Texas Instruments
1988 - Bobby Allison at 50 becomes oldest driver to win Daytona 500
1989 - Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, calling for the death of Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses.
1989 - Union Carbide agrees to pay $470 million damages for Bhopol disaster
1990 - Perrier recalls 160 million bottles of sparkling water after traces of benzene, a carcinogen, are found in some
2001 - The Kansas Board of Education reversed its 1999 ruling and restored evolution to the state's science curriculum.
2003- Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, was euthanized because of incurable lung cancer.

Holidays:
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Arizona 1912, Oregon 1859 : Admission Day
Bulgaria : Viticulturists' Day/Trifon Zarezan, cult of Dionysus
China : Chinese New Year-The Year of the Tiger (2010/4708)
Denmark : Gaekkebrev/Fjörtende Februar-gift exchanges by school kids
Mexico : Day of National Mourning (Vincent Guerrero-1831)
World : St Valentine's Day (269) (DUH!)

Religious Observances:
Methodist : Race Relations Sunday (2nd Sunday in February)
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Valentine, physician/martyr/patron of lovers Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic : Memorial of Cyril, monk/missionary to the Slavs Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Methodius, bishop/missionary to the Slavs

Notable Birthdays:
1945 - Gregory Hines New York NY, actor/dancer (White Nights, Taps)
1944 - Carl Bernstein Washington Post investigative reporter (Watergate)
1929 - Vic Morrow Bronx NY, actor (Combat, Roots, Twilight Zone the Movie)
1927 - Lois Maxwell Kitchener Ontario, actress (Miss Moneypenny)
1921 - Hugh Downs Akron OH, TV journalist (20/20, Concentration)
1913 - Jimmy Hoffa Teamsters leader who disappeared in 1975
1905 - Thelma Ritter Brooklyn NY, actress (Miracle on 34th Street)
1902 - Ray "Crash" Corrigan Milwaukee WI, cowboy (Crash Corrigan's Ranch)
1894 - Jack Benny [Benjamin Kubelski], Waukegan IL, "Oh! Rochester!"
1824 - Winfield Scott Hancock Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1886


So who says it's JUST about St. Valentine anyway?
Kiss your sweetie,
Hug your dad,
Tell mom you love her,
Cherish your children,
Pet the dog,
Rub the cat,
Feed the birds,
and otherwise spread some LOVE around.

Remember, just like Ex-Lax, a little LOVE...
.. goes a LONG way.