For those B Log readers who do get into the Valentine's Day spirit, though, I thought I'd present you some interesting facts about February 14, as my declaration of love to all of you.
• Nobody actually knows who St. Valentine was, or why we have a day that revolves around him or her. The day is linked back to a Catholic saint named St. Valentine. Unfortunately, there are three St. Valentine's, and little evidence exists as to which one we celebrate.
• The first Valentine's Day was declared by Pope Gelasius on Feb. 14, 496, possibly as a replacement for the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, also celebrated in February. The rites of Lupercalia apparently involved sacraficing goats and dogs, skinning the animals, and then dressing young nobles in the skins. The nobles would then run around the town whipping young girls with animal skins. That must be where the saying "nothing says I love you like getting whipped with dead animal flesh" came from.
• In Japan, it is customary for only women to give gifts to their male partners on February 14. In the 1980s, March 14 was declared "Reply Day". On that date, men are expected to give gifts to their valentines that are at least two to three times higher value than the gifts they received. Returning a gift of only equal value is considered an acceptable way to indicate you are ending the relationship.
• Love makes people stupid, and marriage makes people cheap. The U.S. National Retail Federation reports that the average consumer will spend $103 on Valentines Day gifts this year. Spouses, on the other hand, will spend $63.
• Before Hallmark got into the greeting card market in 1910, the practice of exchanging Valentines Day greetings was largely limited to between a man and woman. Fortunately, Hallmark quickly realized the holiday's unlimited retail potential, and has since made it possible for people to tell their mothers, fathers, siblings, dogs, postal workers, and bosses how much they mean to them.
And of course, for those who are like me and simply don’t care about celebrating February 14 as a day of love, here are a few other noteworthy events that happened on this day.
• In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent for the telephone, as did another inventor by the name of Elisha Gray (AKA, “Elisha who?”)
• In 1989, the first 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System (GPS) were launched into orbit. Originally intended as a military technology, today GPS helps iPhone users stalk each other.
• In 1819, Joshua Abraham Norton was born in London. Norton moved to San Franciso in 1849, and became a wealthy real estate investor using inheritance from his father’s estate. He eventually blew a fortune trying to become a Peruvian rice importer, went broke, went crazy, and left San Francisco in a depressed state, before returning to the city and declaring himself “Emperor of these here United States,” and repeatedly tried to dissolve the U.S. Congress. When he died penniless in 1880, an estimated 30,000 San Francisco residents turned out to pay their respects to Norton. No, this isn’t the script to the next Coen brothers movie.
Happy Joshua Abraham Norton day!
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