|
Women report their spouses groan when the
Valentine’s Day advertising
begins. Men frequently end up
giving up or giving in. They
either do nothing and claim it
is a bogus, commercially
motivated holiday anyway; or
just buy candy or flowers (both
if they are feeling flush) and
plan to do better next year.
Flowers die; candy gets eaten.
What has actually been
accomplished to make the
relationship stronger with these
consumable goods?
Couples want to create lasting
romance in their relationship,
but many have no idea how to
accomplish this feat; staggering
divorce rates attest to this
fact. People are bombarded with
ideas and books to try to keep
the flame alive. They resort to
expensive therapy, or may do
nothing and just hope it works
out for the best.
The fact is, grand gestures
never work. Relationships are
built day by day and the health
of your relationship depends
upon a system of checks and
balances. Simple little
gifts throughout the year do
more to strengthen a
relationship than large gifts
given for Christmas, Valentine's
Day and Birthdays. Does that
mean you should forego
Valentine's Day completely?
Absolutely not because
Valentine's Day was actually
created as a celebration of
marriage.
|
History of
Valentines Day:
Valentines Day
received its name from the
priest, Valentine who objected
to the banning of marriage by
Emperor Claudius II during the
3rd century AD. Marriage and
engagements were banned to force
men to leave their families and
join the Roman Army. This was
probably the only time in
history men showed rebellion by
getting married!
Eventually Bishop Valentine was
caught by the Roman soldiers
performing illegal marriage
ceremonies, an offense
punishable by death. During his
short incarceration, many of the
couples he married threw thank
you notes, flowers and gifts
into his cell. Bishop Valentine,
(today Saint Valentine) was
executed through bludgeoning,
beaten to death and decapitated
on February 14th, 269 AD. His
last correspondence was a love
letter to the jailer's daughter
(why we give cards on
Valentines) thanking her for
keeping his spirits up during
his incarceration.
Prior to Saint Valentine the
Roman's observed a mid-winter
festival called Lupercalia.
Honoring the Roman God of the
same name, this was one of the
few times unwed men and women
were allowed to socialize. In a
box the names of young women
were placed and drawn at random
by men. For the duration of the
festival, the woman he chose
accompanied each man. Later
leaders of the infant Christian
Church in Rome discarded the
pagan elements of Lupercalia,
replacing women's names with the
names of saints. The church
chose to saint Bishop Valentine
and bestowed upon him the honor
of being the patron Saint of
Love. |
|
 |
|
Purchase this
book
February 2nd,
2010 and the
proceeds will go
to support the
victims of
Haiti's
earthquake! |
|
Today the actual meaning and
purpose of Valentines Day is
lost in the commercialization,
distorted by political agendas
or minimized, but it doesn't
need to be.
A
Celebration of your Marriage
As husband and
wife, this is your holiday.
Valentines is a reminder of the
preciousness of marriage. and
how fortunate you are to be
joined with another as well as
an acknowledgement of the
sacrifices you've made as a
couple to preserve the power of
love . The traditional meaning
of the exchanging of gifts is to
mark both the sacrifice you give
in service to each other and
gifts attainted through a
lifetime of love.
The perfect
gift for Valentine's Day if
you're married is anything that
reminds each other why you
married. Many couples will mark
the day by re-reading their
marriage vows to each other.
Rather than spend a fortune on
something, find something that
reminds you of the time you
first realized you were in love.
It could be something as simple
as a chocolate shake. Think
about it. What were you
doing when you first realized
you loved your spouse?
Make that your gift.
Recreate the moment. Nothing is
more romantic and it will mean
far more to both of you.
Then make a habit of doing
little things throughout the
year to celebrate your love and
you'll never have to worry about
spending a fortune on this
holiday again.
Happy
Valentine's Day...this really
is, your day!.
Publisher's note:
This article is a collaborative
effort between authors
BJ & Laurie
Woodard and Couples' Company's
founder
Laura Dawn Lewis. The
Woodward's have a new book
coming out,
The Marriage Manual which has premiered with rave
reviews. Given recent
events in Haiti, the husband and
wife team have decided to donate
a portion of the proceeds to
very well respected
international children's charity with funds
designated to help the
earthquake victims.. Their
hope is to raise $10,000 through
book sales on February 2, 2010
via Amazon.
You can help support their
efforts by purchasing
The Marriage Manual
through
Amazon on February 2, 2010.
The writers have put
together a special package
for
Everyone who purchases the
book that day with valuable
bonuses and prizes including
e-books, free coaching
calls, recorded trainings,
interviews, discounts on
services, audios,
coaching, spa packages,
artwork and more worth much
more than the price of the
book! Reserve your
copy now by
Clicking Here
|
