Valentines Day Myths

There’s always the one day of the year where lovers send each other greeting cards, express their feelings for each other, and send each other sweets, but which day is that? It’s Feb. 14 and its Valentines Day, the holiday not many people know the origins of. Although it feels like a recently created holiday, the first account of Valentines Day (by that name) was in 1600 in the poem Hamlet. Like all things that are unknown there are many myths surrounding it, but now its time to separate the truth from what’s not.

Valentines Day was a Recently Created Holiday: Because there is so much focus on Valentines Day in the commercial industry and so little in history books, it has led some to believe Valentines Day was recently created. But truthfully Valentines Day can be traced back to the Pagan Lupercian Festival which was held to honor the God of Fertility. Although it was not as focused on love like the modern interpretation of Valentines Day, during the festival men choose a women to spend their life with.

Cupid has always been a Cute Cubby Flying Baby Boy: Cupid is often pictured on greeting cards, chocolates, and gift wrappers as a flying baby with a bow and arrow, but as everyone, especially freshmen who have just studied mythology, should now know is that the iconic image of Cupid has not always been true. The love myth “Psyche and Cupid,” describes Cupid as a mysterious beautiful man who refuses to make Psyche fall in love with an ugly creature that his mother, Venus, commanded him to do. Instead he himself fell in love with Psyche. Although it is true he uses his bow and arrow to make people fall in love with each other, he is no way near the misconception of a flying baby boy, but instead a stunning handsome god. It wasn’t after the Roman’s Christianize the holiday that it Cupid became the little winged baby you see on your greeting cards.

Valentines Day is just for the Greeting Cards: We’ve all seen those Hallmark cards at Wal-Mart saying “You’re the Sweetest!” (with cupcakes next to it), but people argue that these cards demean this cherished holiday. And to some critics Valentines Day is little more then a Hallmark Holiday created to take your hard earned cash away, but in reality the creation of these cards can be tied in to the death of the origin of this holiday, St. Valentines. When Emperor Claudius II started fearing that his men would lose their will to fight because they miss their wives back home, he outlawed marriage to his young soldiers. St. Valentine realized the how unfair that was and started to carry out marriages for young lovers in secret. When Claudius discovered that he ordered that Valentine be put to death. While in prison, the jailor's daughter started visiting him in his cell and Valentine eventually fell in love with her. Before his execution, he wrote her a letter, which he signed it 'From your Valentine,' which started the tradition of giving out Valentines to people you love. It wasn’t until late-16th century where printers started mass-producing valentines to sell to the public.

There’s always that sweet heartfelt feeling that Valentines Day provides, but now it’s even sweeter knowing that you can separate what’s true from what’s not, so why not go out there and buy some greeting cards for your “special” friend. It doesn’t matter what time period people celebrated this holiday, from the earliest celebration of the Lupercian Festival to having dinner with “you know who,” Valentines Day always has been about the one person you love most.

Ryan Liu

There’s always the one day of the year where lovers send each other greeting cards, express their feelings for each other, and send each other sweets, but which day is that? It’s Feb. 14 and its Valentines Day, the holiday not many people know the origins of. Although it feels like a recently created holiday, the first account of Valentines Day (by that name) was in 1600 in the poem Hamlet. Like all things that are unknown there are many myths surrounding it, but now its time to separate the truth from what’s not.

Valentines Day was a Recently Created Holiday: Because there is so much focus on Valentines Day in the commercial industry and so little in history books, it has led some to believe Valentines Day was recently created. But truthfully[,] Valentines Day can be traced back to the Pagan Lupercian Festival which was held to honor the God of Fertility. Although it was not as focused on love like the modern interpretation of Valentines Day, during the festival men choose a women to spend their life with.

Cupid has always been a Cute Cubby Flying Baby Boy: Cupid is often pictured on greeting cards, chocolates, and gift wrappers as a flying baby with a bow and arrow, but as everyone, especially freshmen who have just studied mythology, should now know is [delete is] that the iconic image of Cupid has not always been true. The love myth “Psyche and Cupid,” [delete comma] describes Cupid as a mysterious beautiful man who refuses to make Psyche fall in love with an ugly creature that his mother, Venus, commanded him to do. Instead he himself fell in love with Psyche. Although it is true he uses his bow and arrow to make people fall in love with each other, he is no way near the misconception of a flying baby boy, but instead a stunning handsome god. It wasn’t after the Roman’s Christianize[d] the holiday that it [delete 'it'] Cupid became the little winged baby you see on your greeting cards.

Valentines Day is just for the Greeting Cards: We’ve all seen those Hallmark cards at Wal-Mart saying “You’re the Sweetest!” (with cupcakes next to it), but people argue that these cards demean this cherished holiday. And to some critics Valentines Day is little more then a Hallmark Holiday created to take your hard earned cash away, but in reality the creation of these cards can be tied in to the death of the origin of this holiday, St. Valentines. When Emperor Claudius II started fearing that his men would lose their will to fight because they miss their wives back home, he outlawed marriage to his young soldiers. St. Valentine realized the [delete the] how unfair that was and started to carry out marriages for young lovers in secret. When Claudius discovered that[,] he ordered that Valentine be put to death. While in prison, the jailor's daughter started visiting him in his cell and Valentine eventually fell in love with her. Before his execution, he wrote her a letter, which he signed it 'From your Valentine,' which started the tradition of giving out Valentines to people you love. It wasn’t until late-16th century where printers started mass-producing valentines to sell to the public.

There’s always that sweet heartfelt feeling that Valentines Day provides, but now it’s even sweeter knowing that you can separate what’s true from what’s not, so why not go out there and buy some greeting cards for your “special” friend. It doesn’t matter what time period people celebrated this holiday, from the earliest celebration of the Lupercian Festival to having dinner with “you know who,” Valentines Day always has been about the one person you love most.

Feb. 14 is Valentine's Day, that one day of the year where lovers send each other greeting cards, express their feelings for each other, and send each other sweets. Although numerous people celebrate it, not many people know the origins of the holiday. While it feels like a recently created holiday, the first account of Valentine’s Day (by that name) was in 1600 in the play Hamlet. Like all things that are unknown, there are many myths surrounding it, but now it’s time to separate the truth from what’s not.
Valentine’s Day was a Recently Created Holiday: Because there is so much focus on Valentine’s Day in the commercial industry and so little in history books, it has led some to believe Valentine’s Day was recently created. But Valentine’s Day can be traced back to the Pagan Lupercian Festival, which was held to honor the God of Fertility. During the festival men choose a woman to spend their life with. Although the festive was the origin the holiday it wasn’t as focused on love like the modern interpretation of Valentine’s Day
Cupid has always been a Cute Chubby Flying Baby Boy: Cupid is often pictured on greeting cards, chocolates, and gift wrappers as a flying baby with a bow and arrow, but everyone, especially freshmen who have just studied mythology, should now know that the iconic image of Cupid has not always been in existence. The love myth “Cupid and Psyche,” describes Cupid as a mysterious, beautiful man who refuses to make Psyche fall in love with an ugly creature that his mother, Venus, commanded him to do. Instead he himself falls in love with Psyche. Although it is true he uses his bow and arrow to make people fall in love with each other, he is in no way near the misconception of a flying baby boy, but instead a stunning handsome god. It wasn’t until after the Romans Christianized the holiday that Cupid became the little winged baby you see on your greeting cards.
Valentine’s Day is just for the Greeting Cards: We’ve all seen those Hallmark greeting cards at Wal-Mart with cupcakes next to the phrase “You’re the Sweetest!” but people argue that these cards demean this cherished holiday. And to some critics, Valentines Day is little more than a Hallmark holiday created to take your hard earned cash away, but in reality the creation of these cards go way back. When Emperor Claudius II started fearing that his men would lose their will to fight because they missed their wives back home, he outlawed marriage for his young soldiers. St. Valentine realized how unfair that was and started to carry out marriages for young lovers in secret. When Claudius discovered this, he ordered that Valentine be put to death. While in prison, the jailor's daughter started visiting him in his cell and Valentine eventually fell in love with her. Before his execution, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine,” which started the tradition of giving out valentines o people you love. It wasn’t until late 16th century when printers started mass-producing valentines to sell to the public
Valentine’s Day is celebrated Only in America: Romantic movies have made Valentine’s Day seem as unique to American as the Super Bowl, but that doesn’t mean were the only country that celebrates the holiday. In Japan the women is the one that gives the gift, in Spain and Austria instead of chocolates they always give each other flowers, and in Scotland they hold an annual festival for singles.
There’s always that sweet heartfelt feeling that Valentines Day provides, but now it’s even sweeter knowing that you can separate what’s true from what’s not, so why not go out there and buy some greeting cards. It doesn’t matter what time period people celebrated this holiday, from the earliest celebration of the Lupercian Festival to now having dinner with “you know who,” Valentines Day always has been about the one person you love most.




-------- --------------------------------
Ryan Liu
-------- --------------------------------

Feb. 14 is Valentine's Day, that one day of the year where lovers send each other greeting cards, express their feelings for each other, and send each other sweets. Although numerous people celebrate it, not many people know the origins of the holiday. While it feels like a recently created holiday, the first account of Valentine’s Day (by that name) was in 1600 in the play Hamlet. Like all things that are unknown, there are many myths surrounding it, but now it’s time to separate the truth from what’s not.
Valentine’s Day was a Recently Created Holiday: Because there is so much focus on Valentine’s Day in the commercial industry and so little in history books, it has led some to believe Valentine’s Day was recently created. But Valentine’s Day can be traced back to the Pagan Lupercian Festival, which was held to honor the God of Fertility. During the festival men choose a woman to spend their life with. Although the festive was the origin the holiday it wasn’t as focused on love like the modern interpretation of Valentine’s Day
Cupid has always been a Cute Chubby Flying Baby Boy: Cupid is often pictured on greeting cards, chocolates, and gift wrappers as a flying baby with a bow and arrow, but everyone, especially freshmen who have just studied mythology, should now know that the iconic image of Cupid has not always been in existence. The love myth[,] “Cupid and Psyche,”[delete comma] describes Cupid as a mysterious, beautiful man who refuses to make Psyche fall in love with an ugly creature that his mother, Venus, commanded him to do. Instead he himself falls in love with Psyche. Although it is true he uses his bow and arrow to make people fall in love with each other, he is in no way near the misconception of a flying baby boy, but instead a stunning handsome god. It wasn’t until after the Romans Christianized the holiday that Cupid became the little winged baby you see on your greeting cards.
Valentine’s Day is just for the Greeting Cards: We’ve all seen those Hallmark greeting cards at Wal-Mart with cupcakes next to the phrase “You’re the Sweetest!” but people argue that these cards demean this cherished holiday. And to some critics, Valentines Day is little more than a Hallmark holiday created to take your hard earned cash away, but in reality the creation of these cards go way back. When Emperor Claudius II started fearing that his men would lose their will to fight because they missed their wives back home, he outlawed marriage for his young soldiers. St. Valentine realized how unfair that was and started to carry out marriages for young lovers in secret. When Claudius discovered this, he ordered that Valentine be put to death. While in prison, the jailor's daughter started visiting him in his cell and Valentine eventually fell in love with her. Before his execution, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine,” which started the tradition of giving out valentines [t]o people you love. It wasn’t until late 16th century when printers started mass-producing valentines to sell to the public[.]
Valentine’s Day is celebrated Only in America: Romantic movies have made Valentine’s Day seem as unique to American as the Super Bowl, but that doesn’t mean were the only country that celebrates the holiday. In Japan the women[woman] is the one that gives the gift, in Spain and Austria instead of chocolates they always give each other flowers, and in Scotland they hold an annual festival for singles.
There’s always that sweet heartfelt feeling that Valentines Day provides, but now it’s even sweeter knowing that you can separate what’s true from what’s not, so why not go out there and buy some greeting cards. It doesn’t matter what time period people celebrated this holiday, from the earliest celebration of the Lupercian Festival to now having dinner with “you know who,” Valentines Day always has been about the one person you love most.

Feb. 14 is Valentine's Day, that one day of the year where lovers send each other greeting cards, express their feelings for each other, and send each other sweets. Although numerous people celebrate it, not many people know the origins of the holiday. While it feels like a recently created holiday, the first account of Valentine’s Day (by that name) was in 1600 in the play Hamlet. Like all things that are unknown, there are many myths surrounding it, but now it’s time to separate the truth from what’s not.

Valentine’s Day was a Recently Created Holiday: Because there is so much focus on Valentine’s Day in the commercial industry and so little in history books, it has led some to believe Valentine’s Day was recently created. But Valentine’s Day can be traced back to the Pagan Lupercian Festival, which was held to honor the God of Fertility. During the festival men choose a woman to spend their life with. Although the festive was the origin the holiday it wasn’t as focused on love like the modern interpretation of Valentine’s Day

Cupid has always been a Cute Chubby Flying Baby Boy: Cupid is often pictured on greeting cards, chocolates, and gift wrappers as a flying baby with a bow and arrow, but everyone, especially freshmen who have just studied mythology, should now know that the iconic image of Cupid has not always been in existence. The love myth, “Cupid and Psyche”[ describes Cupid as a mysterious, beautiful man who refuses to make Psyche fall in love with an ugly creature that his mother, Venus, commanded him to do. Instead he himself falls in love with Psyche. Although it is true he uses his bow and arrow to make people fall in love with each other, he is in no way near the misconception of a flying baby boy, but instead a stunning handsome god. It wasn’t until after the Romans Christianized the holiday that Cupid became the little winged baby you see on your greeting cards.

Valentine’s Day is just for the Greeting Cards: We’ve all seen those Hallmark greeting cards at Wal-Mart with cupcakes next to the phrase “You’re the Sweetest!” but people argue that these cards demean this cherished holiday. And to some critics, Valentines Day is little more than a Hallmark holiday created to take your hard earned cash away, but in reality the creation of these cards go way back. When Emperor Claudius II started fearing that his men would lose their will to fight because they missed their wives back home, he outlawed marriage for his young soldiers. St. Valentine realized how unfair that was and started to carry out marriages for young lovers in secret. When Claudius discovered this, he ordered that Valentine be put to death. While in prison, the jailor's daughter started visiting him in his cell and Valentine eventually fell in love with her. Before his execution, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine,” which started the tradition of giving out valentines to people you love. It wasn’t until late 16th century when printers started mass-producing valentines to sell to the public.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated Only in America: Romantic movies have made Valentine’s Day seem as unique to American as the Super Bowl, but that doesn’t mean were the only country that celebrates the holiday. In Japan the woman is the one that gives the gift, in Spain and Austria instead of chocolates they always give each other flowers, and in Scotland they hold an annual festival for singles.

There’s always that sweet heartfelt feeling that Valentines Day provides, but now it’s even sweeter knowing that you can separate what’s true from what’s not, so why not go out there and buy some greeting cards. It doesn’t matter what time period people celebrated this holiday, from the earliest celebration of the Lupercian Festival to now having dinner with “you know who,” Valentines Day always has been about the one person you love most.



-------- --------------------------------
Ryan Liu
-------- --------------------------------