I think there is something neat about devoting a whole day to celebrate Love in all its manifest forms.
There are many people who pooh-pooh this day as a holiday that was manufactured by greeting card, confectionary and floral companies. Well, there is no arguing that Saint Valentine’s Day is good for business. Saint Valentine’s Day is good for the restaurant and clothing industries as well. Just think of all the red dresses, shirts and shoes that people buy to wear on this day!
But still, in its purest form, a day devoted to love and union is pretty cool. Some people believe that the day was an invention of the industries mentioned above. Some historians point to the fertility feast days of Ancient Rome. I don't agree with any of this speculation. The celebration of "love" predated any of these industries or the celebrations of the Ancient Greeks or Romans.
This was just one of the many celebrations and feasts devoted to the God, or more precisely, the Goddess of Love, desire, sexuality, and fertility. The Great Mother (and Father) ... The Creator Gods from which all Life has sprung.
After all, without love, desire, sexuality and fertility the race would have died out long ago. The strongest instincts of mankind or any animal is to survive and procreate. Or … more precisely, to survive though procreation.
I may have mentioned in an earlier post about the surprise I felt the time Pete and I went to the Los Angeles Museum of Art to see an exhibition of Buddhist Art. I was expecting to see paintings, photos and statuary of the different manifestations and incarnations of The Great Buddha. There were, of course, some of the above. But the majority of the exhibits actually featured the male god and the female god in coitus.
It is the union, of course, that gives life. And it is life and the union that brings it about which we celebrate on this day.
To Life!
Posted by Judi at February 14, 2007 1:12 PM | TrackBack