February 14, 2013 (Thursday)
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning
The history of Valentine’s Day and how it got its name is the stuff of legend, myth and vivid imagination. The truth is, no one knows precisely how this day got its name. We do know that it is the “Holiday of Love.”
Valentine Cards date back to the middle ages. They were handwritten and exchanged in person. There was no Saturday delivery back then. Come to think of it, there was no delivery that amounted to much.
Remember in school how everyone in the class made Valentine cards and exchanged them? Many a boy or girl would hope that this exercise might awaken a response from their secret girl friend or boy friend. Mostly, though, they were just a lot of fun.
In time, gifts were added to the equation with things like candy and flowers as expressions of affection.
Do you recognize the word, “Ahwuvoo?” You should. You probably taught it to your babies when they were learning to talk. Fortunately, we soon learn the real words, “I love you.” Problem all too often is, we forget to say those words. People these days are more aware of the need to say aloud, “I love you.”
The Greeks had at least 3 words for love: they expressed (1) Erotic (Romantic) love (2) Friendly love and (3) Sacrificial love. OK, if you want the Greek: eros, philia, and agape. All three kinds of love are necessary for human beings. God’s love for us is agape love, self-giving and sacrificial love. It is the word in John 3:16 , “God so loved the world..”
As the song says, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s far too little of. No, not just for some, but for everyone.”
Happy Valentine’s Day.
SONNET 43
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, — I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
— Elizabeth Barret Browning.