Love; a four letter word, simple to pronounce but yet hard to understand. 
When someone falls in love with someone or something they develop unfathomable passion towards the person or thing, it's an ecstatic feeling you may say.  It’s the month of love so they say and to be precise the week of Love simply because Valentine’s day is just around the corner.

Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate romance and love.
After doing a small background check i learnt some shocking revelations about the origin of Valentine’s Day.

How did this day come to be?

From Feb 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, and then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain. Sounds funny right? But the funniest part is that the women were naked and all the beating was in the name of making them fertile (well that’s what they believed). This is according to Noel Lenski, a historian at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
The ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of our modern-day of Love. Emperor Claudius II executed two men both named Valentine on Feb 14, different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine’s Day.

Why celebrate this Day ?

Valentine’s is all about loved ones,  young in love, newlyweds probably 3-4 years in marriage and those still in courtship among others. It’s all about being merry and getting surprise gifts. This is the time of the year when demand for flowers and chocolate shoots high and people in this line of business tend to make a fortune. Did you know that chocolate emits the same chemical into your body which is produced when you start falling in love? Now that’s reason enough to get your loved one a box of chocolates this Valentine’s.

Single men and women out here do not feel abandoned. Don’t even think of posting that photo with the tagline “Self-love”. It’s a cynical and desperate move.

Divorced, widows and widowers, who said YOU can’t celebrate Valentines? To me this a time we should show our love not only to the single most person you love but as well to others, the strangers, that street beggar on the corner of the street, the street urchins, that single mother with three kids who you always call during the weekends to come do your laundry ( i know most bachelors can relate to this).

It would be much better if we viewed Valentine’s differently. How i wish we would use this week to show our Love to the less fortunate, the under-privileged, those that have been through hell, those that feel like there’s nothing to live for in this world.

Sometimes it’s just important to be there for someone, you don’t have to say anything but your presence matters a lot. Makes them feel that they have a sense of belonging. That company only means a lot to someone.

For once let’s forget about our daily hassle, the political temperature in our country, the color of our skin, the tribe, the religion and culture and embrace each other with Love.

When was the last time you did something out of love? It’s the month of Love and it’s never too late. Let’s start with a simple act of changing our attitude. Let’s share the Love we have with others.

By Madiba Muyonga

What is your perception about Valentine’s Day ?

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