Let’s Think Valentine’s Day
By: Judith A. Babb

Valentine’s Day will soon be here. So here are a few myths and facts I thought you might be interested in:

There are many opinions as to who was the original Valentine, with the most popular theory that it was a clergyman who was executed for secretly marrying couples in ancient Rome. In any event, in 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honor St. Valentine. Through the centuries, the Christian holiday became a time to exchange love messages and St. Valentine became a patron saint of lovers.

 

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Another version of this same opinion goes as follows:

The custom of sending special messages and gifts to the ones we love began in the year 270 A. D. The Roman Emperor Claudius found he was having problems recruiting men to serve in his armies. The men wanted to stay home with their wives and children. Angry to find that his men were more loyal to their wives than to himself, Claudius decided to outlaw marriage!

Couples who were in love searched for someone who would help them get married, even in secret. A priest named Valentine performed wedding ceremonies for these desperate young lovers. When the emperor found out, he had Valentine arrested and ordered his
execution, on February 14, the day of the Roman Festival of Love. Valentine's jailer had a daughter, Augustine. She was so kind to Valentine during his imprisonment, that Valentine sent a note with a grateful "thank you" message for all that she had done.

So, the custom of sending Valentines had begun. Valentine, the priest, died because he believed in love. Now he is remembered as St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers.

Where did Cupid come from?

Cupid, the chubby little cherub with a bow and arrow, dates all the way back to ancient Greece. In those days he was known as Eros. He was the son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Much of Greek culture was later adopted by the Romans. They called the goddess of love Venus and her son, Cupid. In Latin, the language of ancient Rome, the word cupido means desire.

As a messenger of his mother, the goddess of love, Cupid would shoot his arrows, tipped with gold. Those struck by the arrows would fall in love.

Some other valentine facts:

In the 1840s, Esther Howland, a native of Massachusetts, is given credit for sending the first Valentine cards.


About 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are exchanged each year. That's the largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the year, next to Christmas.

Over 50 percent of all Valentine's Day cards are purchased in the six days prior its observance.

Research reveals that more than half of the U.S. population celebrates Valentine's Day by purchasing a greeting card.

73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.

About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's Day gifts to their pets.

Names of some romantic-sounding places:

Valentine, NE                      Valentine, TX
Loveland, CO                      Lovejoy, GA
Lovelock, NE                       Love Valley, NC
Loveland, OH                      Loveland Park, OH
Loveland OK                       Lovelady, TX
Loves Park, IL                     Loving County, TX
Lovington, NM                     Loving, NM
Love County, OK                 Lovington, IL
Romeo, CO                          Romeo, MI
Romeoville, IL                      Sacred Heart, MN
Heart Butte, MT                   South Heart, ND

How about a Valentine Arrangement for your Sweetie?

What better way to Surprise your Valentine than with a floral arrangement made especially by you. There is no reason to go to any great expense to create a beautiful arrangement of roses and greens.

First, you’ll need a glass or crystal bowl. If you don’t have one, a fish bowl will work too. Try to find one that is 5” tall and 5” in diameter. You don’t need anything huge for the arrangement to be beautiful.

Next go to your local grocery store or flower shop and pick out the freshest roses you can find (a dozen should do the trick). You’ll want to inspect the petals for firmness, the stems for clean cuts, and the leaves for liveliness.

Rose colors can be selected to match your décor or the season: pink for Valentine’s Day, yellow for Easter, and red for Christmas.

Now, get your greens. You’ll want leather leaf ferns.  You can opt for one other type of leaf, like lemon leaves if you want and use two types of ferns in your arrangement for variety..

Filler flowers are last on the shopping list. Here, you can use a number of different types of flowers—daisies, mums, baby's breath, alstromeria, small carnations, or sprigs of hydrangea blooms. Try to pick flowers that have a lot blooms on each stem.

Now that you’ve brought your roses, greens, and filler flowers home, you are ready to get creative.

Fill the container ¾ full with water and add flower preservative if you have some.

Get your ferns and cut them to a length that will fit your bowl. You will need longer stems to reach the bottom of your bowl, which should criss cross to form a base for your rose stems. Be sure to take the leaves off of the bottoms of the stems that are in the bowl.

Between the fern stems, arrange the other greens (if you also purchased these) to form an even stronger base. Using two different types of greens adds texture to your arrangement. Again, make sure you remove the leaves at the bottoms of the stems that are in the water. Leaves in water will cause discoloration of the water and create bacteria very quickly.

Now, get your roses.

Remove the thorns from the stems to make inserting them easier. If you want a perfectly round-top arrangement, the flower stems should all be cut one length. For the 5” tall container, cut the stems to 8”.

Place 6 or 7 roses around the lip of the container, then place a few standing up in the center, making sure that all of the stems are in the water. Next, insert as many roses as you want into the center of the arrangement. More will mean an extravagant arrangement, less will mean charming.

Insert the stems of the filler flowers between the roses to add more color. Creatively use the filler flowers to close up any holes in the arrangement. You can add baby’s breath for a free and airy look.

You’re all finished. Now take your new creation, find your sweetie and wish her/him a happy Valentine’s Day.

Note: For lasting enjoyment of their flower arrangement, be sure to tell them to change the water daily.

 

 

 

Judith A. Babb is a self-taught floral design expert and author of “Flower Arrangements Made Simple”, loves to see everyone enjoy the beauty of flower arrangements has created an easy step-by-step guide available at http://www.artisticflowerarrangements.com. Sign up for the free monthly newsletter “Flower Talk” and receive numerous tips and techniques for making your own flower arrangements.

   

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