ALT-2 History of Valentines Day
Valentines day is a very controversial holiday. Some people really enjoy the time they spend with their loved ones, while others call it a "Hallmark Holiday" and despise everything about Valentines day.
Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. The lives of young men and women were kept strictly separate, but on February 14th there was a festival to honor Juno, the roman goddess of women and marriage. On this day the young men and women would partner up and many of them would end up getting married because of this holiday.Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II (or Claudius the Cruel) many men weren't joining the armies. Claudius was convinced that it was because they didn't want to leave their loved ones, so he canceled all engagements in Rome.Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples. For this Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February. Since then this holiday has been called "Valentines Day."
So Valentines Day is not a Hallmark Holiday, It was around way before the invention of the hallmark company. But that's not the point. The point is I was working with a couple of friends and we wondered if there was a saint on the exact opposite day of the year, August 14th. So we did some research and this is what we discovered.
Athanasia of Constantinople. Athanasia lived a bleak and morbid life. At a young age her parents forced her to marry an army officer. She did not love him but they quickly became close. Three weeks after their wedding, her husband was killed in a battle with a Moorish raiding party from Spain. She married again under the same circumstances to a second husband. After a few years of marriage he decided to become a monk. Athanasia died several years later.
So we dubbed this day, August 14th, Athanasia day. On this holiday you send things to all the EX's you are still bitter toward. Except instead of tokens of love you send gestures of disdain. You could send them a bouquet of dead roses, Or Chocolate Laxatives, or a picture of you happy with your new spouse. The possibilities are endless.
So if you don't like Valentines Day, you don't have to celebrate it... just don't complain about it either. Just quit your bitching and celebrate "Athanasia Day" exactly 6 months later!
