By ambrosio R. villorente
Throughout the world, February 14 is always celebrated as Valentine’s day, a day singled out for celebrating love, to project love as a virtue, a commitment, a feeling hard to value or to quantify.
It is a day for sending cards to one’s love, to text it, e-mail it. It is also a day for gift giving like chocolates and heart-shaped red objects, flowers. It is declaring one’s underlying love to parents, relatives, friends, and sweethearts.
But one need not spend money to buy something for Valentine’s day. A simple greeting, or a kiss, for one’s husband or wife, or a love note tucked within the folds of his handkerchief before he leaves home for work can be enough. For a wife, appreciating food prepared or saying the magic term “I love you” could be enough to raise her spirit.
Quoting poems of old times, like Elizabeth Browning’s “How Do I Love Thee” is sufficient expression of love. How about the old-fashioned serenade where a guitarist plays the tune and you belt out a song from the heart?
But the best way to show one’s love to a love one is being there with her, demonstrate it in a number of actions, wordless ways, like taking over some household chores, or giving her breakfast, or taking care of the baby at night and so on.
Another way is to make our own special card that contains our innermost feelings for our loved one. The worth of a gift is not measured by money but in the effort one expends to give it.
In these days of advanced information technology, in addition to sending the expression of love via some traditional ways, one can contact a lover, a relative and friend in a matter of seconds. Just text it, fax it, e-mail it. Through the ocean waves divide, one can be closer with another.
Valentine’s Day started in
The story tells of two friends: Proteus and Valentine. Proteus was deeply in love with Julia, but later deserted her. Proteus betrayed his friend, Valentine to the hand of Sylvia whom Valentine loved. However, Proteus and Valentine were reconciled. Valentine won Sylvia back and Julia was also reunited with Proteus.
Yes, the story of Saint Valentine is associated with all stories of love. It is lover’s day. In this day, almost all lovers’ gift materials enjoy brisk sales. Flowers and other gift items increase sales. Even motels and hotels are fully occupied where all manifestations of love and care are expressed and demonstrated. Restaurants, bars and nightclubs increase sales.
These are done because Valentine is love and love is giving, sharing, patient, endures and believes all things, hope all things, rejoice all things and never fail.
We must remember that love built on beauty, soon beauty dies. Love gives itself, it is not purchased. In words of George Gordon, “man’s love is of man’s life a thing apart. ‘Tis woman’s whole experience.” According to John Gay, “She who has never loved has never lived.”
Ardis Whitman argued that “love is a single act; but a climate in which we live, a lifetime virtue in which we are always learning, discovering, growing. It is not destroyed by a single failure or won by a single care. Love is a climax of the heart.”
Whenever and whatever you are, wherever you are, no mater what you do, you are rich, you are poor, you are old, you are young, you are sick or you are well, please remember always you are loved and you are a Valentine.
Today, Thursday, February 14 is Valentine’s Day. Enjoy celebrating lovers’ day. Enjoy the day loving hard and always. Happy Valentine! /MP
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