Today is...

Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine’s Day! Show your significant other that you care by sending a bouquet of flowers, a free Valentine’s eCard, a bottle of champagne, or a box of chocolates!

For centuries, people have celebrated February as the month of romance. In Ancient Rome, a bachelor would pick the name of a young woman out of a hat during the festival of Lupercalia. He would be paired with his chosen woman for the year and often ended up marrying her.

The tradition of sending romantic greetings on the feast day of St. Valentine emerged during the Middle Ages. St. Valentine was a Roman priest who secretly performed marriages for young lovers forbidden to wed. February 14 was also a celebration of the day “the birds began to pair.” Today, Valentine’s Day is a popular occasion for romantic dinners, gift exchanges, and weekend getaways.

On the flip side, this holiday has a growing number of naysayers who believe that Valentine's Day is too commercialized and too cheesy. Want in on the fun? Send an Anti-Valentine's Day eCard to celebrate!

This week is International Flirting Week

February is Black History Month & Potato Lover's Month & National Weddings Month

mages and text courtesy of MyPunchbowl.com" -- http://www.mypunchbowl.com/

History for February 14 1849 - The first photograph of a U.S. President was taken by Matthew Brady in New York City. President James Polk was the subject of the picture. 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell filed an application for a patent for the telephone. The patent was officially issued on March 7, 1876. 1895 - Oscar Wilde's final play, The Importance of Being Earnest, opened at the St. James Theatre in London. 1899 - The U.S. Congress approved Voting machines for use in federal elections. 1903 - The U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor was established. 1920 - The League of Women Voters was founded in Chicago, IL. Its first president was Maude Wood Park. 1929 - The St. Valentine's Day Massacre took place in Chicago, IL. Seven gangsters, who were rivals of Al Capone, were killed. 1962 - U.S. First lady Jacqueline Kennedy gave a tour of the White House on TV. 1979 - Twenty-year-old rookie, Don Maloney, of the New York Rangers, scored his first goal in the National Hockey League. It came on his first NHL shot. 1997 - Astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery began a series of space walks that are required to overhaul the Hubble Space Telescope.

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"Oh, my friend, it is not what they take away from you that counts. It’s what you do with what you have left."

--Hubert Humphrey