Today is...
Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine’s Day! Surprise your loved ones with thoughtful Valentine's Day gift cards, homemade chocolate treats, or a beautiful flower arrangement!
For centuries, people have celebrated February as the month of romance. In Ancient Rome, for example, 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. Personalize a beautiful free Valentine's Day eCard to spread the love!
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!

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

images 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. ________________________________________________________ "Commit yourself to a dream…Nobody who tries to do something great but fails is a total failure because he succeeded in life’s most important battle—he defeated the fear of trying." --Robert H. Schuller