With Valentine’s Day coming up on Friday, I thought I’d add a little fun and levity to this week’s blog.
However, in an effort to help you do what you do better, we’re going to relate this celebratory day to a couple of the 7 F’s of True Success—namely Family (and Friends) and Fun. As you do nice things for your special someone, realize that you’re incorporating these two important parts of our proven model into your life. By doing so, you’ll enrich your own life as well as the lives of others.
Valentine’s Day is all about love, but I’m not just talking about romance here. I encourage you to think of all the special people in your life and take time this week to let them know how much you love and appreciate them.
Ever wonder where we got this sweetheart of a holiday in the first place? I did, and my Google search turned up these fun facts:
Valentine’s Day was not invented by greeting card companies to sell more cards or by candy makers to sell more candy or even by florists to sell more roses. Valentine’s Day actually started centuries ago.
According to legend, the Roman emperor Claudius outlawed marriage because he thought single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families. Valentine was a priest who defied this order and continued to perform marriages. When Claudius found out, he had Valentine put to death.
Another legend has an imprisoned Valentine sending the first “valentine” after he fell in love with a young girl (possibly his jailor’s daughter) when she visited him in prison. He reportedly sent a note to her signed “from your Valentine.”
In the 5th century, Pope Gelasius declared February 14 Saint Valentine’s Day. Some think this was to commemorate the date of Saint Valentine’s death, around A.D. 270, others think it was to take the place of a pagan festival that happened in the middle of February.
The oldest known valentine was written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection at the British Library in London.)
In the 1840’s a woman named Esther Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in the United States.
Today, an estimated one billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making it the second most popular day for cards in the U.S. (behind Christmas, of course).
So now you know the rest of the story behind this fun holiday.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Naturally, you’ll want to let your spouse or significant other and your family and close friends know how much you care, but I’d like for you to look outside this close circle. I challenge you to think of just one other person who might not have a sweetheart on this day and do something special for that person, too.
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