Gift Idea for Everyone

Its that time of the year again when there would be an expected shortage of flowers and a large demand for chocolates and jewelries, which would most probably result in another round of price increases, at least for a couple of days or so. Indeed, we are talking about Valentines Day, that special day which many believe is meant for lovers and love. Festivities during this occasion include dinner dates, floral deliveries and even wedding proposals on some highly romantic place that would be worth remembering a lifetime for. Throughout the years, Valentines has become one of the primary occasions of the year, and a very eagerly anticipated one at that.

But why do we celebrate Valentines? What is the real inspiration for this occasion?

Or rather, who is the inspiration for this day celebrated in the name of love?

My Funny Valentinus

Valentines Day gathers its name from the word Valentinus, which is indeed a name of a person. There are quite a number of accounts of people who were named as such, and who have been canonized as saints. One of them is believed to be the inspiration for the February event.

One Valentinus was a soldier for the Roman army under Emperor Claudius II. The emperor believed back then that marriages and familial obligations made his warriors weak. He decreed that all his soldiers should be celibate. Valentinus defied the mandate and continued celebrating marriages between the soldiers and their loved ones. This led to his death, as Claudius ordered him executed for his defiance.

Though he celebrated love despite the perils to his life while he was in service, Valentinus legendary exploits are more famous for his stay in jail, where it is widely believed that he fell in love with a young girl who was the jail wardens daughter. The forbidden romance between a prisoner and an officers child was carried through secret correspondences until the very day of Valentinus demise. It is said that he signed his letters with the words From Your Valentinus, and such liaisons of love were so moving that they were reprinted many, many times in the centuries that followed.

Birth Of A Myth

Tales become legends, of course, and Valentinus fame carried over the late middle ages. It is at this period when Valentines Day began to be celebrated as a formal occasion. It coincided with the date of Valentinus execution, which happened in the same month in the year 270 AD.

But many believe that the modern day Valentines is a result of the tale above, plus the Christianization of the Roman festival known as Lupercalia. During the earlier years of the Church, its officials decided to adopt pagan celebrations to include the many pagans of the occupied territories in their religion. Lupercalia was one such celebration.

Lupercalia was called the day of purification. Young men run around town to whip people with their leather thongs, especially women who wanted a cure for their infertility. When Lupercalia was absorbed as a Catholic celebration, holy water replaced the leather thongs, and flowers replaced the whips. And the women who thought of themselves as barren placed their names in an urn, to be drawn by the bachelors of the town, with whom they would be paired with for a year.

Valentines Day Made Official

It was Pope Gelasius who made February 14 as the official date for Valentines, way back in 488 AD. It was at this time when the lottery system associated with Lupercalia was deemed as immoral, and instead, a period of wooing replaced it, and flowers as well as other presents became wonderful options.

Also, in the European territories, February marked the beginning of the birds migration, prepping them up for mating season. The magic of Valentines Day was reinforced because it coincided with this event.

Today, there are many ways of celebrating Valentines Day, but none of them lose sight of their brave beginnings. Valentinus spirit lives on, and love is celebrated with festive activities in the modern world.

Promises You Could Actually Keep

January 1 marks the start of a new year, hence a celebration that we have come to call as what else? New Year! The revelries actually start during the last hours of Dec. 31, when people gather with their loved ones over a New Years eve dinner. Some folks light up some fireworks to greet the incoming year. Others spend it merrymaking, exchanging smiles and laughter with the people around them. Others spend it in silence, contemplating on the year that was and the possibilities of the year that will come.

Truly, a variety of customs is observed to celebrate the New Year. Some people believe that jumping as high as you could come the first second of the first day of the year, youd get taller by that years end. Others believe that making some noise would drive away the bad energies that may have accumulated in the household.

Indeed, there are many customs being observed. One universal tradition for New Year, however, is the undertaking of what many people call as New Years resolutions. These are promises that would be for the betterment of yourself which you would promise to comply with for the coming year.

Now, New Years resolutions have developed quite some notoriety for being left unfulfilled. The problem, really, is that some people make resolutions which are too difficult to satisfy. I promise to become a millionaire by the end of the year is quite a hefty goal that needs further study. I promise to quit smoking is not something you could accomplish overnight. I promise to never tell a lie anymore is not as easy as it sounds.

For New Years resolutions to carry some weight, you should be able to come up with doable ones. Start with something practical and possible something that you could actually accomplish. Here are some guidelines that could help you prepare a list.

* Do you have a habit that is unhealthy? Perhaps you could break down your desistance from the same into step by step procedures. Make each step a resolution. Youd be surprised at how effective this approach would be in keeping your New Years resolution.

* Do you have a personal goal that you want to attain? Try to determine if its feasible within the year. No one is pressuring you to accomplish the same, anyway. Devise a plan beforehand, and set a timetable for each aspect. If the timetable is in consonance with the coming year, make each aspect a resolution of its own. Again, like the suggestion above, this would be a more effective approach to keeping your New Years resolution.

* Have you pinpointed a certain aspect of your character that you wish to improve? Try to determine if this would be consistent with who you really are. No one knows yourself better than you do. And you cannot just change who you are just like that. Often, a personal change needs a conglomeration of a lot of factors, beginning with introspection and a will to be better that should come from deep within you.

New Years resolutions lose their meaning if we just blurt them out without thinking about the same. They would then become an exercise in futility, as a halfhearted promise is a promise that is as good as broken.

If you wish to effectuate a change in your life through the resolutions you would deliver to greet the New Year, make sure that they are resolutions which are not impossible to fulfill, and that they are resolutions which are reinforced by a sincere desire to see them through.