|
Happy
Valentine's Day
You may be my husband, my
wife, my boyfriend or girlfriend
You may be my sibling, my
cousin, my neighbour or co-worker
You may be the one I sit
next to in class, or on the train
You may not even know my
name,
but I know you
You've captured my heart
in a very special way
And I'm here to tell you
now that in my own
way...
I Love You
|
| Love doesn't just
happen between partners, it happens between two people. Love
can be expressed in so many different ways. The love in a marriage is no
different than the love between best friends. It is a special bond that
is shared; it completes us.
You
complete me. |
|
Beautiful
Heart
One day a young man was standing in
the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful
heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all
admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a
flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful
heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted
more loudly about his beautiful heart.
Suddenly, an old man appeared at
the front of the crowd and said, "Why, your heart is not
nearly as beautiful as mine." The crowd and the young man
looked at the old man's heart. It was beating strongly, but full
of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other
pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right and there were
several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep
gouges where whole pieces were missing. The people stared - how
can he say his heart is more beautiful, they thought.
The young man looked at the old
man's heart and saw its state and laughed. "You must be
joking", he said. "Compare your heart with mine".
"Mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and
tears". "Yes", said the old man, "Yours is
perfect looking, but I would never trade with you". "You
see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love -
I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they
give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in
my heart". "But because the pieces aren't exact, I have
some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the
love we shared". "Sometimes I have given pieces of my
heart away, and the other person hasn't returned a piece of their
heart to me". "These are the empty gouges - giving love
is taking a chance". "Although these gouges are painful,
they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people
too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have
waiting". "So now do you see what true beauty is"?
The young man stood silently with
tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man,
reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a
piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The
old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a
piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the
young man's heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some
jagged edges. The young man looked at his heart, not perfect
anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old
man's heart flowed into his. They embraced and walked away side by
side.
How sad it must be to go through
life with a whole heart.
Author: Unknown |
Q. So what is
Valentine's Day all about anyway?
A. Here are two references I have found to the meaning:
|
Valentine's
Day
Despite
occasional grumblings that it was invented by the greeting card
industry, Valentine's Day actually has a long, rich history. Its
earliest origins derive from a pagan festival called Lupercalia,
in which Romans called upon the god Lupercus to keep the wolves
away. As part of the festivities, Roman girls wrote their names
on a slip of paper and placed them in a jar for the boys to draw
from. The matches were supposed to be sweethearts until the next
Lupercalia.
Lupercalia
evolved into Valentine's Day after Emperor Claudius II,
believing married men would prefer staying with their families
to fighting his wars, decreed that Roman soldiers were forbidden
to wed. According to legend, a priest named Valentine conducted
secret marriage ceremonies in defiance of the edict. On February
14, the eve of Lupercalia, he was beheaded for his crime.
After Valentine
was sanctified, Christian priests adapted the pagan holiday,
moving it back a day to honour him.
http://www.arttoday.com |
|
St
Valentine's Day
St Valentine's Day, holiday
dedicated to lovers. It is celebrated on February 14 by the
custom of sending greeting cards or gifts to express affection
to a chosen partner. The cards, known as valentines, are
generally sent anonymously and are often designed with hearts to
symbolize love. The holiday probably derives from the ancient
Roman feast of Lupercalis (February 15). Originally a festival
for shepherds, it was celebrated in honour of Faunus.
Its primary purpose was to secure fertility for the fields, the
flocks, and the shepherds themselves. The festival gradually
became associated with the feast day (February 14) of two Roman
martyrs, both named St Valentine, who lived in the 3rd century,
but about whom nothing specific is known. St Valentine has
traditionally been regarded as the patron saint of lovers. An
early reference is found in the works of Chaucer,
who states that birds pair on St Valentine's Day. The practice
of calling oneself a “valentine” and asking one's beloved to
be the same, is referred to in the Paston Letters, the largest
surviving collection of 15th-century English correspondence
written by the Paston family and their neighbours in Norfolk.
"St Valentine's
Day". Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2002
http://encarta.ninemsn.com.au (11 Feb. 2002) |
Happy Valentine Season
from Dfa Drama
Counter and referral only.
Tuesday, 12 February 2002
|