people often confuse the original meaning of something for its true meaning. this issue usually comes up in late october, when certain christian groups object to the celebration of halloween because they claim it's really a pagan holiday. (see e.g. this this and this) but it isn't necessarily. plenty of non-pagans celebrate halloween and, to them, it's a secular holiday.
meaning of words and holidays change over time. that's the bit the original meaning = true meaning people seem to miss. hell, even the word "holiday" was originally "holy day." if meaning was really that static, we couldn't ever find the words to complain about a "secular holiday."
that's what i thought about when i read this op-ed about the origin of valentine's day. the history of the holiday is fascinating. and i find it oddly romantic that a holiday created to suppress sex and love by religious authorities evolved into a celebration of those very things. love conquers all and all that. when i read about the original purpose of the holiday, it is so obviously irrelevant to the holiday we celebrate today. valentine's day is simply not about what it used to be. is that really so hard to understand?
and i wonder if any of the anti-halloween people are giving someone flowers today
