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Getting to the Heart of Valentine's Day
Call me a hopeless romantic, but on my birthday or any other special day, I’d rather receive one hand-written card than 250 Facebook greetings. Somehow a tweet just doesn’t show the same investment as an original signature and a stamped envelope with a fancy card inside – better yet, a hand-made card. Personal communication today comes cheap and quick, with not much feeling when iCalendar does all the remembering for you. I prefer a little sacrifice on my birthday, anniversary, and especially Valentine’s Day.
This day for lovers, one of the largest greeting card days of the year, actually commemorates the martyrdom of Saint Valentine, whose incredible sacrifice has become the stuff of legend. Little more is known of Valentine than his persecution and martyrdom during the Roman Empire and his burial on February 14 along the Via Flaminia outside Rome. But over the centuries, romantics have woven a tragic love story between the imprisoned Valentine and an alleged jailer’s daughter. The legend says that on the eve of his execution, he wrote a note of thanks to his beloved for her kindness to him in prison, and signed it, “From your Valentine.” I don’t believe that love note would have packed the same historic punch in an email.
I have a family friend who has faithfully, sacrificially, sent me a birthday card every year of my life. She remembers how old I am, and she finds me even when I’ve moved. When I married, she added my husband’s birthday to her card list. When I had children, she added their birthdays to her list, as well. I can’t imagine her budget for postage with all the friends she has. Why does she do it? Because she is one of the precious few who understands the blessing of a hand-written note that says, “I was thinking about you enough to find a pen, drop a line, lick a stamp, and walk to the mailbox.” It is a loving ritual, and a lost art.
Shame, shame, all you tweeter-greeters, who rely solely on the digital calendar to tell you when it’s your husband’s birthday, or your parents’ anniversary! Love letters are best kept in a shoebox, not a database, so they can be held gently in hand as you imagine the hands, the people, who first produced those original manuscripts.
We absolutely cannot cheapen Valentine’s Day to the computerized card. In the spirit of Saint Valentine himself, may our letter writing and well wishes to others convey genuine, well-formed, timely, and true feelings.
Copyright © 2008-2015 Julie Strohkorb
Reader Comments...
| 2012-02-03 11:19:32 "Loved your article!!!!!!! My sentiments exactly." - Aleta |
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