What Is Love...Baby Don't Hurt Me

As I sit here avoiding any chocolate that isn't filled with caramel from my 50% off box of Valentine's Day candy; curiosities of love and Valentine's Day are running through my head. Who invented Valentines Day? Hallmark? Hershey? Florists?! After conducting some research on Google I can honestly conclude that...no one really knows. There was a Saint Valentine who was a priest in the Roman Empire during the 3rd century A.D. who secretly married couples even though marriage was prohibited by law (a really stupid law). Saint Valentine was imprisoned for his "crimes" and was later beheaded as a punishment. I have no idea how love notes and candy spiraled out of this man's death, but I now have an interesting tid-bit of information for the next time Valentine's Day rolls around.

Valentine's Day is a day that is centered around the idea of love. Something that fascinates me is that there are so many people who absolutely loathe Valentine's Day... People who hate the day of love..(it sounds a little weird right?)  I can completely understand why people don't like Valentine's Day. You wake up the morning of February 14th and the first thing you see on Instagram is a selfie of a couple who are kissing with the caption "best valentine I could ever ask for!"(if this applies to anyone's Instagram photos I'm sorry that I'm using you as an example). It's photos/tweets/posts like this that make people who haven't found that special someone feel lonely. An unintentional slap in the face if you will, and like any normal person's reaction to getting slapped in the face, they are going to be angry towards whatever hit them.

There is a point however, where this anti-Valentine's Day movement gets a little old. It's a day to celebrate love! All these Valentine's Day haters have something that they can celebrate on this day, they just aren't thinking outside of the heart-shaped box (god I'm funny). If you aren't in a relationship and hate Valentine's Day try to remember that you can celebrate the love that you have for your family, friends, dogs, cats, chinchillas, and even your celebrity crushes! Please don't think that I am calling you or anyone out on hating Valentine's Day, I personally used to be miserable on this day and it was only within that past few years that I realized I didn't have to be in a relationship to appreciate Valentine's Day. Instead, I could use this day to celebrate how much love I have in my life.

I think Olaf had it right when he said that true love is when you put someone else's needs before your own. If you're reading this and you can think of one or more people that this applies to, then maybe think about celebrating that for next Valentine's Day. Or don't even wait till then to do it, celebrate it the next time you see/speak to them!

Until next time...