Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone on the blog.
It is a special day when we technically remember the burning at the stake of two Valentines in Rome. Valentine of Rome was a priest burned on the Via Flaminia about AD 269. (You can still see his toasted relics at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. Valentine of Terni was also burned on the Via Flaminia about AD 197. This led to the first rule of Valentine’s Day: if you are named Valentine, avoid Via Flaminia.
At some point, being burned at the stake reminded people of their marriages and relationships. It certainly does make flaming hearts more historically correct among Valentine cards and gifts.
It was Esther Howland in Worchester, England in 1847 who is given credit for commercializing the holiday with the Valentine card. Thank you Esther, though I still try to celebrate each Valentine Day with a barbecue and a nice chianti.
Leslie and I went out last night with friends for drinks and a comedy club (with a uniquely unfunny comedian). This morning we made heart-shaped red-died pancakes.
May I present the greatest love song of all time:
To My Birthday Well-wishers,
Thank you all so very much! You’ve made a green man blush! Although I am currently putting nose to grindstone, I did manage to have a lovely birthday weekend in which I ate too much food that is bad for me and received some lovely thoughtful gifts from some lovely thoughtful people – present company included. I will be back to blogging as time permits. Now if you’ll pardon me, I plan to spend the rest of the day as far away from the Via Flaminia as I can get.
Happy Birthday, Buddha! Here’s a little “Rachel” blog video present for you:
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Happy Birthday, Buddha. Have a good one.
Happy Birthday, BIL:
Hugs and kisses to JT.
Happy Buddha-irthday Too!!
Is it indeed the Green man’s birthday. Happy Birthday, BIL, may your greenish tint never fade. Thanks to Mama Buddha is Laughing we have benefited from your insights and humor as one of our regular bloggers. Enjoy the day, green man.
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Thanks, CEJ, for the nice thoughts. I mostly just ignore it; but, I think of other people who have no SO’s and also are not able to realize all the commercial stuff is just to sell you something. It’s not like they really care. Thanks for the Nina Simone.