SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE WESTERNER

Valentine’s Day—for romance or economics?

By Julie Carter

Valentine’s Day is looming on the near horizon and men of the west are restless with worry. The pressure is on.

Getting to the day and through the day in the good graces of the little purty is high priority for a few but not all.

One veteran cowboy when asked what he thought about Valentine’s Day replied, “Not much. I don’t think about it at all. You don’t want to get that started-- birthdays, Valentine’s and all those holidays. If you never start paying attention to them, then the little woman never expects it.”

When discussing Valentine’s Day, you will often hear “Where did that get started anyway?”

Some will attest to the theory that the day was invented as a clever ploy to stimulate the economy in an otherwise sluggish time of year. Greeting card companies, florists, jewelers and chocolate manufacturers who flourish because of it would have to agree.

Although shrouded in mystery, history records a couple theories about this annual homage paid to the patron saint of the day, St. Valentines.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men that were his crop of potential soldiers.

Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages in secret for young lovers. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

According to another legend, Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself. While in prison awaiting his execution, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl who may have been his jailor's daughter who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today.

Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

Valentine’s Day advertisements, even locally in a rural part of the world, promise evenings of lasting romance and adoration if you will just come dine with them for only $175 a couple. I don’t foresee too many pickup trucks leaving the ranch for that one.

There will be some “romantic” gestures made at those dirt road residences. It may not be wine and roses but a cowboy on a Valentine’s Day date will offer a romantic late night walk through the frosty pastures for a “just once more” check of the cows. After all, it is calving season.

My dad, while waiting on a hay buyer, took advantage of the available material and created a baling wire heart complete with the arrow through it for the one time ever Valentine’s gift for my mother.

I got a Valentine once. The card was in Spanish because that is all that was left at the store and I’m not sure that it wasn’t a birthday card. With it came a box of chocolates, his favorite kind, since he knew I was holding fast to my diet.

Valentine’s Day may not be just a scheduled boost to the February economy. It can also be a right-on-target guaranteed successful plot to end any New Year’s diet resolutions. It is one more reason not to make that Jan. 1 promise. Wait until Feb. 15 and don’t share your chocolate.

Julie can be reached for comment at jcarter@tularosa.net

© Julie Carter 2005

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