Happy Valentine's Day

To add to your info Jalima, according to the Catholic Church, St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, and young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses.

Sorry to put a damper on it with a bit of gruesome truth/myth/legend

❤

Marydoll I'm with you. Just a day for expressing love. My first GC is 8 months old and I sent her a card but one I had made, not a lovey dovey romantic one. My DD was really touched that I had thought to do so. I also sent love to all friends and family via my FB page. Any day is a good day to send love, and St. Valentine's Day just concentrates the mind.

I’m not a fan of cards of any description ( except birthday cards for children), so the Bodach and I ignore Valentine’s Day, though one year he did give me a card saying, “ Roses are red, violets are blue, you’ve never had one before, so you’re gettin’ wan noo”.

I was also horrified to see “ Palentine” cards being advertised.

Ramblingrose22, thank you for your reply and pointing me in the direction of Wikipedia.
However, I am well aware where the tradition comes from and have absolutely no need to consult Wikipedia, which is considered unreliable anyway.
Times change and I know many people, who just see sending a card as a way of showing affection.
As I have said previously, I accept that we all have different interpretations and perceptions of situations and my motto is, "Live and let live". The world would be a pretty boring place if we didn't. I am certainly NOT assuming that I know what anyone else's mindset is. It is absolutely none of my business what others think, just as I would hope that others would accept what I think, without criticising or being patronising.
Furthermore, I indicated that I was glad that I had the mindset that saw sending a card as an affectionate gesture.
Also, I am well aware that by posting on GN, you leave yourself open to criticism and robust replies to one's posts. That's what makes threads interesting.
However, what has upset me is the use of words by posters (on what I assumed was a lighthearted thread) such as "creepy", "repugnant", "sexual", "inappropriate", "weird" when referring to the actions of people (like me), who send Valentine's cards to our children. The implication is, that our behaviour is in some way unsavoury.
I can assure you it certainly is not.
That is why I tend to post only on the games, Café and Soop's kitchen, everyone there is so supportive of each other.
Thank you for tainting what was an affectionate and wholly innocent gesture on my husband's part. I doubt if he will ever send another card.
Cherrytree and Kittycat, thank you for understanding what I meant by an affectionate gesture.

Well, I've never heard of that.

And he's a Saint surely?
St Valentine was a Roman priest who was captured and tortured for marrying Christian couples at a time when Christians were being persecuted.
Claudius II ordered him to be executed by beheading which he was on 14th February C278 AD.

Or so the story goes.

Our DD was presented with a red rose and a card when on the bus to work, when she was about 25, she said she was really embarrassed and had to say thank you, but that she already had a boyfriend.

We have a custom here in Norfolk that there is a knock at the door and when your child goes to the door there is a little package containing sweets and perhaps a few little things pencils,crayons perhaps a small toy all from Father Valentine. My parents used to do it for my sisters and I all in our 60’s now and it is still a popular custom here.

I hadn’t even realised that it was Valentines Day.We have never sent cards to each other or anyone else since we got married, but remember enjoying getting cards from boys when a teenager.My sister and I had a bit if a contest as to who got the most ( she did usually).Two brothers ( twins) who lived locally used to put cards through our letterbox every year to both of us! My sister eventually went out with one of them for a while.

No sorry but I never have ....

DH and I wished each other Happy Valentines Day this morning and saved ourselves about £7.

And it doesn't have to be a valentines card you give or send, a blank flowery one or with their favourite animal and wishing them a nice day is fine. Its nice to know someone is thinking about you.

Yes we can tell our nearest and dearest we love them at any time, but do we?
I think the original idea of Valentine's Day is long gone, it's just nice to have a special day to tell your special people you love them.x

Have to say that the card I sent to my six year old GD last year was the first and only card I have ever sent to anyone other than someone I was romantically involved with. And I must have found one that was appropriate or I wouldn’t have sent it. I thought it would make her laugh and her parents didn’t complain so they must have taken it in the spirit it was sent.

Someone did send me one, out of the blue and of course unsigned, when I was a newly divorced single mum. it completely freaked me out as I had no clue who had sent it and it felt really weird. It was a well-meaning friend of my mum who thought it would cheer me up. It didn’t but I appreciate her intent.

I only sent a Valentine card to a DC if I thought they may not get one from anyone else and that was when they were older anyway.

Otherwise I find it a bit odd.

Marydoll agree
When my children were young I would put love hearts and heart shaped chocolates in their lunch boxes (also in DHs of course)

V/day morning I made toast with a large imprinted heart using a plastic gadget from I think Lakeland.
Must look it out

Agree with maryhoffman37. Seems a strange idea to me, but each to their own.

Marydoll - you shouldn't assume that anyone has a particular mindset by pointing out what the actual tradition is! It's simply down to general knowledge about the purpose of St Valentine's Day.

Here's an extract from Wikipedia:

"Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine,[1] is celebrated annually on February 14.
Originating as a Western Christian feast day honoring one or two early saints named Valentinus, Valentine's Day is recognized as a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and romantic love in many regions around the world, although it is not a public holiday in any country."

Obviously you are entitled to send anyone you like any cards you like and if you don't mind lining the pockets of card manufacturers that's up to you.

The only valentine's card I ever received was from my very first boy-friend when I was 15 and he was 16. We broke up before we moved past the hand-holding stage, which we both knew was going to last for a very long time if we weren't to get into very hot water with his widowed mother and my parents, the year being 1966!

I think I sent him one too, but have never even thought about sending one since.

henetha hope its made your day
Never too to old for a bit if romance?

Decide a few years ago to reuse previous years cards for everything except birthdays.

A friend has a large xmas card from the Seventies, her DH writes a little message on it every year.
I wish we hard started the same tradition when we were first married, it would be lovely to look back on and so much better than throwing away the card after the event.?

It just goes to show what innocents our family members are. It never crossed my mind that there was something untoward or inappropriate about the whole thing. .
There is nothing romantic or sexual about our motives and I'm glad I don't have that mindset.

As a father and grandfather I think the whole idea of sending valentines cards to ones children or grandchildren is totally creepy

I gave my Grandsons a tube of Love Hearts each,

Always send one to gd from our cat Oscar xx

I'm with Maryhoffman37 - very weird. What next - 'to my darling cat on Valentine's Day' The only people who benefit are the card retailers.