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A Bit of History...

Just who was this Valentine guy?

Things were pretty tough for the guy who directly or indirectly started this day of expensive gifts and hard-to-book reservations. There are several versions of the story of St. Valentine. Like rumors at the White House, no one story could be confirmed. The reasons for the day could be any of the following:
February 14th was a designated feast day on the Roman Catholic calendar to honor two Christian saints martyred by the Roman Emperor Claudius II Gothicus. The Christians, at least one named Valentine, were executed on February 14. The feast day was removed from the Catholic calendar in 1969.
Legend has it that the reason Saint Valentine was beheaded was that he continued to marry couples after Claudius had forbade marriage amongst his soldiers.
February 15th was the beginning of the fertility festival in Rome to honor the pastoral god Lupercus. There's an ancient belief, noted by Chaucer, that birds begin to mate on February 14th. I wonder if they have trouble getting into good restaurants, too. And the practice of sending a sweetheart or special friend a gift dates back to the mid-1400s.
The modern celebration somehow picked up cupids, hearts, flowers and the over-use of the color red. It's also a day of huge profits for florists, greeting-card companies, candy merchants and the post office. Whatever the origin, if you're in love it's great, if you're not, it's a real drag.

The most romantic movies

Here's a list of some of the most romantic movies.

  • "Titanic"
  • "An Affair to Remember"
  • "Sleepless in Seattle"
  • "When Harry Met Sally"
  • "Brief Encounter"
  • "Casablanca"
  • "Truth About Cats and Dogs"
  • "Roxanne"
  • "Beauty and the Beast"
  • "L.A. Story"
  • "Say Anything"
  • "Roman Holiday"
  • "An Officer and a Gentleman"
  • "A Room With a View"
  • "Sense and Sensibility"
  • "Gone With the Wind"
  • "Great Expectations"
  • "The English Patient"
  • "Austin Powers"
  • "Ghost"
  • "Bridges of Madison County"
  • "Pretty Woman"
  • "Dr. Zhivago"
  • "Romeo and Juliet"
  • "Reds"
  • "Sid & Nancy"
  • "Star Wars" (think about it)
  • "Out of Africa"
  • "Adam's Rib"
  • "Bringing Up Baby"
  • "How to Marry a Millionaire"
  • "Speed"
  • "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
  • "Sugarland Express"
  • "The Purple Rose of Cairo"
  • "Cyrano de Bergerac"
  • Fade to black

Most unromantic movies

There were disagreements over the most unromantic movies. But here's a partial list.

  • "A Streetcar Named Desire"
  • "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"
  • "Annie Hall"
  • "The Night of the Iguana"
  • Any Oliver Stone film
  • "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"
  • "Sweethearts"
  • "Heathers"
  • "The French Connection"
  • "Children of the Corn"
  • "War of the Roses"
  • "The Cat From Outer Space"
  • "The Dirty Dozen"
  • "Eraserhead"
  • "Suddenly Last Summer"
  • "The Three Faces of Eve"
  • "The Last Boy Scout"
  • "Up In Smoke"
  • "The Quick and the Dead"
  • "Basketball Diaries"
  • "Goodfellas"
  • "Slingblade"
  • "Pulp Fiction"
  • "Reservoir Dogs"
  • "Taxi Driver"
  • "Raging Bull"
  • "Carrie"
  • Any Friday the 13th movie
  • Nightmare on Elm Street
  • "Psycho"
  • "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers"
  • "Night of the Living Dead"
  • "Pennies From Heaven"
  • "Seven Samarai"
  • "A Touch of Evil"
  • "Trainspotting"
  • "Miracle Mile"

Love Facts

Don't get caught with your guard down this Valentine's Day, here's some facts to help you rack up points with your significant other or win a few trivia contests.

The Taj Mahal

The Mogul emperor Shah Jahan loved his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, so much that when she died in 1629 he ordered construction of a tomb for her that would be deemed the finest example of Indian Muslim architecture. The emperor brought skilled craftsman from all over Asia and Europe to build the beautiful domed structure in Agra, North India.

The Taj Mahal was designed by a Turkish architect and its construction took 18 years and the lives of many laborers.

The white marble exterior is inlaid with semiprecious stones, floral designs, and arabesques. The dome is 80 feet high and 50 feet in diameter inside.

The Taj Mahal is considered one of the most magnificent and treasured sites in India.

Statistics: (from Publishers Weekly, Ingram, the Book Industry Study Group, and ABA)

  • 49.8% of paperback books sold in America are romances
  • Romance generates approximately $1 billion per year in sales; this is up from 1992, when sales totaled $885 million.
  • The average price of a romance paperback is $5.50
  • Approximately 19 publishing houses produce romance novels. They include Harlequin Enterprises, Kensington Publishing, NAL-Penguin, Leisure, Bantam, Avon, Berkley-Jove, Harper, Pocket, Barbour, Fawcett, St. Martin's, Dell, Bethany House, Warner, Questar Palisades, Tyndale, Avalon, and Genesis Indigo.
  • In 1996, 2,020 romance novels were released, 150 more than in 1995
  • In 1996, 182 million copies of romances were sold

Harlequin Enterprises research statistics

  • An estimated 45 million women in North America read romance novels
  • Romance readers range in age from 15 to 105
  • 68% of romance readers attended or graduated from college
  • 55% of romance readers work outside the home and maintain an average household income of $45,300 per year
  • 48% of romance readers began reading romances when they were 17 or younger
  • Women with full-time, executive-level jobs report reading an average of 14 romances per month
Favorite Valentine's Links
Bluemountain
Valentine Central
Build A Heart Necklace
Create your own Special Valentines!
"Treats for your Valentine!"
Valentine Links

Eating Heart
Girard Unified School District 248 - 415 North Summit - Girard, KS 66743