Ah, Valentine’s Day. A holy day of obligation for attached men; weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth for single women. Oh, and something about a Christian martyr who was tortured to death in Rome around 269 AD—but let’s not talk about that.
It turns out we can blame Chaucer for the commodification of this particular feast day. In Parliament of Foules (circa 1381), he wrote, “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day / Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.” It was, as far as we know, the first mention of St. Valentine’s Day as a special day for lovers.
Here’s a decidedly different take on love, circa 1985:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWhpk-8QLFQ
