happy valentine's day
I've come to appreciate being in the Midwest again. February is the season of melting snow and today was warm enough for an extended walk along the river. Fishermen stood on what remained of the ice cover, and a mallard and his mate joined them.
On a day like this, it's important to remember what Valentine's Day is all about – bees!
Saint Valentine was known as the patron saint of beekeeping, although like many 3rd-century individuals, the details of his life that are known are scarce. He ministered to persecuted Christians, restored sight to a blind girl, and, it is said, cut hearts from parchment to remind Christians of God's love, giving rise to the tradition of sending paper hearts as valentines. Only in the Middle Ages did his feast day become associated with courtly love.
Not much has been written about why Valentine was the patron saint of beekeeping, apart from February 14 being about the time when bees first begin to reemerge from their long winter seclusion.
"On February 14, in 270 CE, a Roman priest was executed for secretly performing marriages during the reign of Claudius II. At the time, it was difficult to maintain a loyal army because men had a strong attachment to their lovers, leading Claudius to ban marriages. By 496 CE, St. Valentine was declared the patron saint of beekeepers and lovers. Soon after, people began exchanging messages of love, poems, and gifts on this day."
"The World Atlas of Honey," C. Marina Marchese, p. 11.
In this world, you are never alone. Wherever you are, there are bees <3