I was in the middle of another post but took a break to publish this post on this lovely day: Valentine’s Day.

The most common story about this day is that St Valentine was a priest from Rome in the third century AD who opposed Roman Emperor Claudius II (who banned marriage so men would be more willing to go to war), and arranged marriages in secret, which resulted in his being thrown in jail and sentenced to death. According to legend, he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and on 14 February, the day of his execution, he sent her a love letter signed “from your Valentine”. Over time, St Valentine’s name began to be used to express people’s feelings to whom they loved. (bbc.co.uk) (Photo above: mirror.co.uk)

Photo: Getty Images via history.com

Valentine’s Day always takes me back to many years ago, when I was a young girl at about twelve years old. One of our English teachers at school was a British, a sweet young woman whom I remember with her big smile and colorful tights… In one of her lessons she gave as the assignment to prepare a Valentine Card, an assignment for everyone having a partner or not. This seemed so strange to me. How come I would write a Valentine Card without a boyfriend? However, in the end this homework had become one of the most fun I ever had, which I still remember every Valentine’s Day with a smile…

Jolly Valentine Cards (Photos: eBay.com / imdb.com) (Although writing letters or sending cards are a bit out of fashion in our time of technology and social media, I must say that preparing Valentine Cards is really fun.)

You can use your imagination and sense of humour and have real fun while preparing a creative Valentine Card. Like below:

Funny Valentine Cards (Photos: etsy.com / amazon.uk)

You may also use a creative witty poem to express your feelings.

A funny Valentine poem (Image: poemsource.com)

The homework I mentioned above also made me develop a different point of view on the Valentine’s Day… Two lovers’ love to each other, a mother’s love for her son or daughter, siblings’ love to one another, a small girl’s love for her grandma, love of a friend, one’s love for her/his dog, love for oneself … All kinds of love is precious and to be blessed.

Mother and daughter sharing an intimate moment / Romantic love (Photos: mirror.co.uk / timeanddate.com)

You may celebrate St. Valentine’s Day with a romantic dinner with your spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend, or with your besties. Or by yourself coloring between the spaces of a French image while listening to a French song, as I did years ago with pleasure…

A Valentine Day celebration with friends, which I must say is really be fun as having experienced before. (Photo: mirror.co.uk)

Photos: (dordognevie.com / athomeinfrance.com) (No wonder that when one thinks of love, Paris comes to mind. Visiting Paris during this time of the year would be very inspiring! You may check my older post titled “Paris – Always A Good Idea” (click for the post) if you like.)

Macarons, jolly French sweet confections mentioned in my post about Paris, can also be suitable for this day. However, I would opt for a chocolate cake or intense chocolate flavors. (Photos: Getty Images / mirror.co.uk)

Valentine’s Day is a special time of the year when people show their affection or love for another person by cards, flowers, chocolates, balloons (especially red heart balloons) or messages of love.

Illustrations: (istockphoto.com) (I had once received a bunch of red heart balloons as a Valentine Day gift from my hubby (my fiancé then) – a sweet memory for me.)

This day also evokes romantic films – classics like “Casablanca” or “The Bridges of Madison Country“, romantic-comedys like “The Sound of Music” or “When Harry met Sally” or the romantic film series like the ‘Before’ Trilogy.

Before Trilogy (Photo: medium.com) (I would definitely suggest Before Trilogy series for this day, one of the most sweet romantic series ever, also the subject of my older post titled “Before Trilogy-25th Anniversary of The Sweetest Film Series in Cinema History” (click for the link).)

We are going out to dinner to an Italian restaurant with my husband and daughter this evening, to cherish this day with love and gratitude. My son will be celebrating Valentine’s Day with a group of friends including his girlfriend.

As a pasta lover, whether at home or outside, my choice on this day would be Italian cuisine. With wine of course, a perfect pairing for such celebrations. (Photo: forbes.com)

As a coincidence, I watched two episodes of “Downton Abbey”, one of my favorite series, with a friend yesterday. I would like to finish this post with a wonderful scene from this series – perfect for cold winter days and to cherish love on this day.
(Downton Abbey was among TV series the late Queen Elizabeth loved to watch. I had mentioned about this and the story of the series at the end of my older post titled “Queen Elizabeth II and Her Platinum Jubilee” (click for the link).)

A scene from the last episode of Season 2 of “Downton Abbey” (Photo: maryandblake.com) (Matthew Crawley proposing to Lady Mary as it snows and while the fireplace inside burns… It was such a warm magical scene…)

Happy Valentine’s Day!