Valentine's Day comes around each February 14 and, depending on your penchant for romance, you'll either be looking for that special someone or you've already found them and, in order to hang on to them, you'll be showering them with flowers, chocolates and presenting them with a suitably gushing card.
But the origins of Valentine's Day are somewhat less lovey-dovey and a good deal more violent. Saint Valentine, for whom the day is named, was imprisoned by the ancient Romans for performing weddings for soldiers, who were forbidden to marry, and for ministering to Christians who at that time were being persecuted by the Roman Emperor. Legend has it that, during his imprisonment, Valentine, who was made a saint after his Christian martyrdom, performed a miracle by restoring the sight of a blind woman whose father had sentenced Valentine to prison.
So things were not too romantic for Valentine, but before he was executed he wrote the formerly blind woman a letter and signed it "Your Valentine". So this was the prototype, presumably, for the Valentine card that Hallmark gets rich on every year.
So, by all means, read, listen or view something appropriate from our collection.
What could be more romantic than Titanic, the story of "two people from different worlds meet and fall in love on the brief, tragic maiden voyage of the grand ocean liner Titanic."
But, if you are after a more visceral take on Valentine's Day, you could recapture the spirit of the notorious Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929 Prohibition-era Chicago when Al Capone's gang murdered seven members of rival George "Bugs" Moran.
- Find out more about Valentine's Day on our website
Add a comment to: It ain’t all hearts and flowers