Released on: February 13, 2008, 11:27 pm

Press Release Author: Stan Dubin

Industry: Entertainment

Press Release Summary: Modern Love Holiday's Traditions Go Back 1,500 Years to Pagan
Roman Celebration

Press Release Body:
Clearwater, FL,Feb,14,2008 -- This coming Thursday, February 14, is Valentine's Day,
traditionally a time for lovers and spouses to exchange candy, flowers and other
gifts. But this modern holiday actually originated 1,500 years ago, in 5th century
Rome as a tribute to St. Valentine, a Catholic bishop.

Going back to 300 B.C., Romans had practiced a pagan celebration in mid-February
commemorating young men\'s rite of passage, featuring a lottery in which young men
would draw the names of teenage girls from a box. The girl picked by each young man
would be his sexual companion for the rest of the year. Pope Gelasius,
understandably not pleased with the custom, ordered a "slight" change in the
lottery. Instead of the names of teenage girls, the box would contain the names of
saints. Both men and women were to draw names from the box, and they would have to
emulate the ways of the saint whose name they drew during the rest of the year. Not
surprisingly, young Roman men were not thrilled with the rule change.

The Church looked for a suitable patron saint of love for the holiday. They decided
upon St. Valentine, who, in AD 270 had been beheaded by Emperor Claudius. Claudius
had decided that married men made poor soldiers, and banned marriage. But Valentine
would secretly marry young couples that came to him. When Claudius found out, he had
Valentine stoned and beheaded. While Valentine was imprisoned, he fell in love with
the blind daughter of his jailer. Through his love and faith, he miraculously healed
her from her blindness before his death. Before he was taken to his death, he signed
a farewell message to her, \"From your Valentine.\" The phrase has been used on his
day ever since.

Stan Dubin, author of the book "When the Thrill is Gone, How to Put the Life and
Excitement Back into ANY Relationship," says, "Valentine's Day today is a great time
to express your love and appreciation for your spouse or girlfriend or boyfriend. In
today's busy lifestyle, we sometimes forget how important it is to express our love
to our significant other. We don't have to spend a pile of money to make the other
person realize how much we love them."

Anyone wondering "How can I help my marriage?", wishing to avoid marriage
counseling, and improve their marriage can do so by using Dubin's book, "When the
Thrill is Gone: How to put the Life and Excitement Back into ANY Relationship," at
http://www.helpyourmarriage.com. Additionally, tools and advice to help marriages
succeed at http://www.marriagesuccess.com.
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Web Site: http://www.marriagesuccess.com

Contact Details: Contact information:

Stan Dubin
marriagesuccess.com
1858 Feather Tree Circle
Clearwater, FL 33765
United States
standubin@marriagesuccess.com
http://www.marriagesuccess.com