Catherynne Valente on Valentines Day as told by Chaucer

Miss Valente has a really awesome post about the benefits of rituals, holidays, and Valentines Day in particular. This makes me re-examine my lack of fondness for the day.

One of my favorite bits:

Valentine's Day, boys and girls, entered the Western mind in Chaucer's Parlement of Foules, fully-realized as a day to celebrate love via an obscure saint, with red hearts and everything. Yes, celebrated in an allegorical bird-nation, but guess what? That makes it even more awesome. I will take a holiday my buddy Geoff invented over almost any other. If I had my way, we'd start exchanging bird-themed gifts and ditch Cupid.

This is a great holiday. It's pure physical, sensual pleasure, divorced from any dogma at this point. Saint whatever. Pass the sex and food.

That definitely makes it more awesome. Exponentially.