Who says Valentines Day has to just be about celebrating romantic love? When you start to investigate the origin and history of February 14th you find lots of stories about a man called Saint Valentine who was martyred. But not just one of them, quite a few, the Catholic church alone recognises at least three saints called Valentine or Valentinus.
Then you have tales from the Roman times of a man called Valentine who was killed for trying to help Christians escape from prison, and before his death he apparently sent a card to a young girl he had fallen in love with, and simply signed it "from your Valentine". There are also Christian stories and Pagan stories, and let's be honest, we have no idea what is the truth.
In my younger years I considered Valentine's day to be an exciting time, one when I might receive beautiful flowers, a meaningful card and I'd dress up for a night out. After 25 years with my husband I'm no longer seeking for him to spend our well-earned money on tokens and over-priced flowers. We often go out together and I'd rather do it at times when the rest of the world isn't out, showing how much they love each other.
So with this is mind I started to wonder why I couldn't celebrate Valentine's Day with all my family, with those I love most, but maybe not in a romantic way.