Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is from St. Valentine who, during the Roman Empire officiated weddings even when Claudius II banned marriages, and aiding persecuted Christians. Valentine was later beheaded when he did not renounce Christ. One legend says that before his death he restored sight to the jailer's daughter (by the power of God), and he wrote her a note and signed it "From your Valentine." He was beheaded February 14th. (Source for this was Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey episode on St. Valentine, and Wikipedia states that this idea of St. Valentine was from the book Golden Legend although Claudius banning marriage is not stated. The website roman-emporers.org does say that Claudius was very strict towards his soldiers. Catholic.org mentions the letter and the jailer's daughter). It was Chaucer who is believed to popularize the romantic love associated with Valentine's day. Anyways, the purpose of this little history lesson (and it was really neat to research it), is that Valentine's day has become so hyped up by our culture it is rediculous. It is said to be the "Black Friday" for the floral business, with sales reaching $80,000. Some of my friends from Willamette use to deliver flowers and they can attest to how busy and crazy Valentine's day can be. When I went to pick up the freezer on Valentine's day (see previous posts) there were many Valentine's vendors along the street trying to make a quick buck. This year, Heather and I decided to not celebrate Valentine's day on Valentine's day but the day after. So on Friday morning, February 15th, I went to Fred Meyer before work to pick up some roses and chocolates for Heather. The roses were 75% off, and the chocolates were 50% off! After work, we had reservations at McCormick and Schmick's Harborside. We had received a $25 gift certificate from Alaska Airlines, and by splitting an appetizer and a meal we were able to only spend $10 plus $3.50 for parking. Afterwards were were going to rent a movie from Red Box (for free with coupon), but unfortunately it did not have Becoming Jane or No Reservations. We had a wonderful Valentine's day on February 15th and are really enjoying dates on a budget.