5 Valentine Takes Saturday - Vol. 5

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Happy St. Valentine's Day one and all! In honor of this feast and holiday, all the Quick Takes shall be Valentine's Day related. I even went and changed my blog template for the day. I shall more likely than not change it back Sunday or Monday so if you don't see it today, chances are you won't see it at all!

Also a challenge for those self-pityingly inclined and food for thought for those who are not. Either way, Valentine's Day Challenge is another brilliant post from A Maiden's Wreath.

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St. Valentine was a priest - possibly a bishop - of Rome, as well as a physician. During the persecution of the Christians, Valentine was imprisoned for giving aid to the soon-to-be martyrs at the jail. While in prison, he is said to have cured the jailer's daughter of blindness. From catholic.org,

The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in a The Nuremberg Chronicle, a great illustrated book printed in 1493. [Additional evidence that Valentine was a real person: archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine.] Alongside a woodcut portrait of him, text states that Valentinus was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius the Goth [Claudius II]. Since he was caught marrying Christian couples and aiding any Christians who were being persecuted under Emperor Claudius in Rome [when helping them was considered a crime], Valentinus was arrested and imprisoned. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner -- until Valentinus made a strategic error: he tried to convert the Emperor -- whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn't do it, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate [circa 269].

St. Valentine's feast is celebrated on February 14th. However, according to americancatholic.org, due to the confusion as to the certainty of Valentine's reality (there at least three different Saints with that name), St. Valentine's feast was dropped from the calendar of official, worldwide Catholic feasts.

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The Origins of Valentine's Day, from americancatholic.org...
(They do a fine job of explaining it, so why not quote them?)

The roots of St. Valentine's Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year.

Pope Gelasius I was, understandably, less than thrilled with this custom. So he changed the lottery to have both young men and women draw the names of saints whom they would then emulate for the year (a change that no doubt disappointed a few young men). Instead of Lupercus, the patron of the feast became Valentine. For Roman men, the day continued to be an occasion to seek the affections of women, and it became a tradition to give out handwritten messages of admiration that included Valentine's name.

There was also a conventional belief in Europe during the Middle Ages that birds chose their partners in the middle of February. Thus the day was dedicated to love, and people observed it by writing love letters and sending small gifts to their beloved. Legend has it that Charles, duke of Orleans, sent the first real Valentine card to his wife in 1415, when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. (He, however, was not beheaded, and died a half-century later of old age.)

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It's been two years since the Rebelution released it's wonderful and informative

If you've never seen this before, I HIGHLY recommend and encourage you to click on the banner and check it out! And guys, you can still sign the Modesty Petition. Again, to do this, just click on the banner.

Over 1,600 Christian guys have answered questions on everything from glitter lotion and lip gloss to swimsuits and skirt slits! It's everything girls have ever wanted to ask guys about modesty, but were afraid to ask! For guys, it's really interesting to see what other Christian guys think! Most importantly, the survey is presented as a resource to help Christian girls (and guys), not a list of legalistic rules, and it is accompanied by the Modesty Survey Petition (which tons of guys have signed) which encourage young women to focus on the heart, not the hemline, to honor their parents, etc.

-from the Rebelution website.

A warm thank you to all the guys who answered the questions and signed the petitions, making the Modesty Survey the best Valentine I have yet received!

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Hmm, take number 5. Well, since it's Valentine's Day, I shall list all of my favorite love songs, at least, the ones I can recall. I know as soon as I hit 'Publish' and leave the computer I shall think of a dozen more. Ah well, that is what editing is for!
So then, my favorite love songs (read, 'the songs I want played at my wedding and/or my 50th Anniversary'.)

1. Amazed - by LoneStar
2. Lost in this Moment - by Big & Rich
3. All I Ask of You - 'The Phantom of the Opera'
4. When You Say You Love Me - by Josh Groban
5. My Confession - by Josh Groban
6. All'Improvviso Amore - by Josh Groban
7. Livin' Our Love Song - by Jason Michael Carroll
8. The Voyage - Celtic Thunder
9. Can You Feel the Love Tonight - 'The Lion King'
10. Love Story - Taylor Swift
11. Our Song - Taylor Swift
12. When You Say Nothin' at All - Alison Krauss
13. Kingdom of Love - Shani Rigsbee (From the movie "One Night with the King")

The last song is particularly beautiful, so I linked to the song. You won't regret listening to it!

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Now it's your turn! Below is a Mr. Linky List if you'd care to link to your own 5 Quick Takes Saturday post. Just two things though
(1) Make sure the URL you submit is to your post, not the URL of your blog. (2) Include a link back here.
Can't wait to see what you post!