by Kriszia Vengua

Created on: February 13, 2009   Last Updated: February 15, 2009

There are three things we know about Valentines Day: 1) it's named after a person named Saint Valentine, 2) he gave a lot of gifts, and 3) considering that he's been dead for centuries, that this profit making holiday has been around for a very long time.

Like old people who sit in their porches in rocking chairs complaining about how kids were oh-so-much better in their golden years, last minute shoppers (also called MEN) complain of how commercialized Valentines Day has become. How Valentines Day is a day founded on one man's generosity, which has continually been taken advantage of by corporations and women, who use this day as an excuse to break out of their diets and dive into a (sumptuous!) box of gourmet chocolates.

Before we all long for the rugged allure of Valentines Day Ver. 1.0, maybe we should first find out if all that the three things we supposedly know are true.

1) Valentines Day is named not after one, but three people named Valentine, and before the Catholic Church narrowed it down, it used to be eleven. But while all three share the same name, none of them shared the same time-line, as they all lived a century apart.

2) Neither of the three (or eleven) were known to be extremely generous, amorous, or roving Casanova's. In fact, not much is known about them except they were martyrs persecuted by various emperors of Rome. They died fighting for the Church, and not because someone got pissed with their excessive gift giving.

In fact, there was nothing romantic about Valentines Day until the early 1800s, when courtly love came into fashion. So when exactly did all the paper hearts and the valentine chocolates start?

3) Blame it on Chaucer, who wrote a poem linking Valentines Day and mating birds, a gift for the King of England who had just gotten engaged. People thought that was romantic, and like a video that's just gone viral, the idea caught on.

Suddenly, men wrote poems and love letters to the women they were courting, until someone eventually thought it was easier to just send a card. Just to score more points, they started the two staple gifts at the time too: flowers and gourmet chocolates. And when the flower and chocolate industries started making serious money, other industries followed suit: stuffed toys, jewelry, toiletries, food, clothes, and anything and everything that the magazines think will lead to the bedroom.

Eventually, Valentines Day became associated with romantic love, and the gift giving tradition along with it. It celebrated couples, and the enduring love they shared.

So the next time you last minutes shoppers (MEN) complain about bring back the Classic Valentines Day and hold on off on having those gourmet chocolates delivered, consider this: would you rather be martyred, or write a really long love letter?

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