Valentine's a Boon for Indian Rose Growers AFP Valentine's Day may infuriate India's Muslim and Hindu fundamentalist groups, but the festival signals boom time for the world's biggest rose grower. Bangalore-based Karuturi Networks -- which grows flowers in India, Kenya and Ethiopia -- has shipped about 18 million roses to Europe and other markets for Valentine's Day, four times last year's sales, a senior executive said. And local sales at one million stems are 25 percent up ahead of Valentine's Day on February 14.
Deepening Your Relationship with Chocolate The Wall Street Journal For Chicago-based chocolatier Katrina Markoff, 35 years old, the trick to fully enjoying Valentine's Day chocolates is being "really present" in the moment. To achieve full awareness, Ms. Markoff wears comfortable clothing, such as yoga pants, when she tastes her creations. And her preference, to avoid distractions, is to eat chocolate by herself.
Kids Made My Valentine's Day in Iraq Christian Science Monitor Baghdad isn't exactly the kind of place that lends itself easily to the traditional Valentine's Day fare of chocolates, flowers, and greeting cards. As a civilian employee of an international aid agency, I didn't have high hopes of seeing many Valentine's festivities.
The Sweet Smell of...Nothing The New York Times Like red roses and heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, perfume has traditionally been one of the fail-safe offerings of Valentine’s Day. But this year, as couples sit down to romantic dinners, a small but growing cohort of American women will emit scents that are more corporal and less Chanel.
February 14, 2008
Got plans yet for Feb. 15? If not, and if you're a fit young man, we strongly urge you to consider stripping naked and running through the streets smacking comely maidens with small whips. Just for old times' sake.
You'll be reliving one of the highlights of Lupercalia, the Roman festival widely regarded as one of the precursors to our present Valentine's Day hooplah. Happened on Feb. 15, and it was purely focused on producing babies, none of this romantic flapdoodle.
The whole thing apparently was a big "thank you" to the she-wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome. Priests of the Luperci College would start the celebration with a few animal sacrifices and presentation of a few Vestal Virgins. Then...well. Let Plutarch tell it:
‘At this time many of the noble youths and of the magistrates run up and down through the city naked, for sport and laughter striking those they meet with shaggy thongs. And many women of rank also purposely get in their way, and like children at school present their hands to be struck, believing that the pregnant will thus be helped in delivery and the barren to pregnancy.'
The goatskin thongs were considered instruments of purification, empowered to rid stricken women of bad luck, curses and infertility. Februa is Latin for purification, hence the name of the month.
And how did playful flogging and naked frolic turn into poster-sized greeting cards and a retail explosion of pink and red the minute the after-Christmas sales are over?
Well, even after Rome had largely converted to Christianity in the late 4th century, the people still expected some kind of fertility celebration in February. As with other such situations, the Church's answer was to tone down the pagan celebration, make it a tribute to a saint, and declare it all good.
St. Valentine turned out to be a fine choice because there were several of them, all martyrs during the nasty reign of Claudius. And nobody knew anything about their lives, so there was nothing to get in the way of having St. Valentine represent whatever the people wished.
Which means there's nothing to prevent a modern-day libertine/cheapskate from "discovering" that dear old Valentinus actually preferred the old ways when it came to welcoming the reproductive miracle of spring. Now grab that goatskin and get to work!
Lupercalia MMVIII Lupercalia Edmonton At heart, Lupercalia was dedicated to purging all afflictions and ills before the spring growing season. By the ancient calendars winter had ended by the Ides of February, the time of Lupercalia, and spring, a season of new beginnings, had arrived.
The History of Valentine's Day History.com Love may not make the world go around, but it's what makes the ride worthwhile.
Email Carries Love and Viruses for Valentine's Day InformationWeek Just in time for Valentine's Day, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) on Tuesday released the results of a survey showing that young people are embracing e-mail to send love letters. Coincidentally, the FBI warned on Tuesday that cybercriminals are embracing e-mail to send fake love letters.
How Do You Celebrate Valentine's Day?
0% 25% 38% 38%
TO THE STREETS!!!