Valentine's Day, the most sexist day of the year
The countdown has begun to Valentine's Day. You know the day when every husband/boyfriend
must declare their love with chocolate, flowers, jewelry, cards, fancy dinners, romantic lines, thoughtful gifts and of course they must declare their love on social media for all the world to see. Every wife/girlfriend on the other hand not only receives all of these wonderful tokens of love but they only have to give a card and maybe a shirt or a bottle of cologne in return. For many years I have felt this holiday was started by a woman. So this year, I decided to research my theory.
I first researched St. Valentine. That wasn't helpful. The Catholic church recognizes at least 3 St. Valentines. Each had their own "love story". One did underground marriages after marriages were declared illegal. One fell in love while sneaking Christians to safety when the Roman government was putting them to death. The other was in jail when he fell in love with somebody's daughter so he sent them love letters. Some legends combine the stories of two or all three to form the story of St. Valentine. So that didn't help prove my point or dismiss it either.
By the early 1800's it was popular to exchange gifts on Valentine's Day. February 14th was picked as the date because it was a Roman tradition that birds began their mating season on that date. The first cards were all homemade using left over lace, paper, ribbons and had color pictures drawn or painted on them. These cards were called, "scrap" and became more popular as the printing of colored pictures became more widespread. These color pictures would be cut out and attached to the cards. The gifts were more practical then. It would have been more acceptable to give your wife a broom if she needed one than it would be now. In fact, now it may be used against you in a very painful way.
I can say my theory is correct thanks to Esther Howland. In 1840, she begin to mass produce Valentine's for sale in America. Before that time the already made cards came from England and were too expensive for most Americans to afford. She felt like she could make better cards for less. So she convinced her father to order the supplies from England. She made several for sample. She sent them with her brother on a business trip hoping to gain $200.00 worth of orders. She ended up with over $5,000.00 worth of orders. She made an assembly line at her home and hired women to work at home making decorated boxes for the valentines. In 1850, she ran her first advertisement for
her valentines. In 1879, her orders was so large she moved into a factory to make them all. At this time her business made over $100,000 a year which was a large amount at that time. Her cards by that time were sold world wide and she became known as the "Mother of Valentine's Day." Told you!
According to patch.com the average person will spend $142.31 on Valentine's Day this year. That number is a little misleading because they also report that the average man will spend $190.53 while the average woman will spend only $96.58. My wife can get out even better. She can spend $0.99 on a card and $10.00 on bacon and have me eating out of her hand, literally. The numbers don't lie. This is a sexist holiday that favor the women. So what am I going to do about it? Nothing, because I love my wife and I want to express my love to her with flowers, candy, a nice dinner and of course by declaring my love on social media for all the world to see.
Instead of changing Valentine's Day I want to redirect our thinking process. Not about Valentine's Day but about love. We shouldn't just show it one day a year because society says that is the day we should do it. Men, the Bible tells us we are to love our wife as Christ loves His church. What does that mean? It means we show love everyday. Everything Christ did was to protect and to uplift His church even His death. Christ didn't just say He loved the church He proved it with everything He did and said. We were and are on His mind constantly, even on the cross. That is the example that has been set before us on how to love our wives. Don't let society or holiday tradition tell you how to express your love for your wife, instead let Christ be an example. So take your wife our for a nice dinner on Valentine's Day. Give her some flowers and chocolate with a card expressing your love for her. Then do it again in a couple of weeks. That way she knows it comes from the heart not from a holiday.
Parting Thought: Forget butterflies, I get the whole zoo in my stomach when I am with my wife
I first researched St. Valentine. That wasn't helpful. The Catholic church recognizes at least 3 St. Valentines. Each had their own "love story". One did underground marriages after marriages were declared illegal. One fell in love while sneaking Christians to safety when the Roman government was putting them to death. The other was in jail when he fell in love with somebody's daughter so he sent them love letters. Some legends combine the stories of two or all three to form the story of St. Valentine. So that didn't help prove my point or dismiss it either.
By the early 1800's it was popular to exchange gifts on Valentine's Day. February 14th was picked as the date because it was a Roman tradition that birds began their mating season on that date. The first cards were all homemade using left over lace, paper, ribbons and had color pictures drawn or painted on them. These cards were called, "scrap" and became more popular as the printing of colored pictures became more widespread. These color pictures would be cut out and attached to the cards. The gifts were more practical then. It would have been more acceptable to give your wife a broom if she needed one than it would be now. In fact, now it may be used against you in a very painful way.
I can say my theory is correct thanks to Esther Howland. In 1840, she begin to mass produce Valentine's for sale in America. Before that time the already made cards came from England and were too expensive for most Americans to afford. She felt like she could make better cards for less. So she convinced her father to order the supplies from England. She made several for sample. She sent them with her brother on a business trip hoping to gain $200.00 worth of orders. She ended up with over $5,000.00 worth of orders. She made an assembly line at her home and hired women to work at home making decorated boxes for the valentines. In 1850, she ran her first advertisement for
According to patch.com the average person will spend $142.31 on Valentine's Day this year. That number is a little misleading because they also report that the average man will spend $190.53 while the average woman will spend only $96.58. My wife can get out even better. She can spend $0.99 on a card and $10.00 on bacon and have me eating out of her hand, literally. The numbers don't lie. This is a sexist holiday that favor the women. So what am I going to do about it? Nothing, because I love my wife and I want to express my love to her with flowers, candy, a nice dinner and of course by declaring my love on social media for all the world to see.
Instead of changing Valentine's Day I want to redirect our thinking process. Not about Valentine's Day but about love. We shouldn't just show it one day a year because society says that is the day we should do it. Men, the Bible tells us we are to love our wife as Christ loves His church. What does that mean? It means we show love everyday. Everything Christ did was to protect and to uplift His church even His death. Christ didn't just say He loved the church He proved it with everything He did and said. We were and are on His mind constantly, even on the cross. That is the example that has been set before us on how to love our wives. Don't let society or holiday tradition tell you how to express your love for your wife, instead let Christ be an example. So take your wife our for a nice dinner on Valentine's Day. Give her some flowers and chocolate with a card expressing your love for her. Then do it again in a couple of weeks. That way she knows it comes from the heart not from a holiday.
Parting Thought: Forget butterflies, I get the whole zoo in my stomach when I am with my wife
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