By Jordan Bickham
Staff Writer

With students carrying roses and chocolate around the school, a prom poster staring you in the face as you walk in the school and the colors red and pink everywhere, it is difficult to ignore the fact that it is Valentine’s Day.  Valentine’s Day began with Saint Valentine who was a priest in third century Rome.  The emperor of the time outlawed marriages for young men since single men made better soldiers than those with a family, but Valentine continued to marry them in secret until he was ordered to be put to death.  You can find out more about the history at History.com.

The holiday is usually stereotyped to be specifically about couples, love and chick-flicks, but I do not think the holiday is necessarily about that.  Valentine’s Day is about love, but that love can be between anyone, including family and friends.  So while not everyone has that special someone, everyone can have someone to celebrate with today, even it is just by bashing the holiday (thinking about the movie Valentine’s Day from last year).

Not only is the holiday fun for couples, friends and family close by, but also those all over the world.  Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the UK, France and Australia and is the second largest card-sending holiday of the year after Christmas.  The only problem with this fact is that women purchase about 85 percent of all valentines, making this a female-dominated holiday, just as it is portrayed in movies.

But that does not mean this is a holiday just for girls, anyone can celebrate and have fun.  So continue to spread the love around CHS, whether it is with your friends or that special someone. Get into the Valentine’s Day spirit today!