North Dighton, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/11/2020 --February 14th is a day usually celebrated with the exchange of Valentines. Valentines are described as a special form of greeting cards that are given in observance of St. Valentine's Day. The day is believed to be named after a priest who died only thirty days after being appointed as the Pope. The holiday is also recognized as the one day every year that's set aside as a lover's festival. It's also possible that valentines were the first of all greeting cards. The hard paper valentine is believed to have originated in the 16th Century. By the year 1800 hard painted copperplate were produced to meet the growing demand of people who wanted to exchange valentines. These were later followed by the woodcut die and lithographs.
The modern holiday shares its name with, but is believed to have no connection with, two other figures. St. Valentine is the name of two legendary martyrs whose lives seem to be historically based. One of them was a Roman Priest and physician who suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Claudius II Gothicus and was buried on the Via Flaminia.
Ultimately St. Valentine's Day was set apart as a lovers' festival that dates back to at least the 14th Century.
The modern tradition of giving Valentine's Day Cards has no relation to the saints who were martyred. But a study of both the martyrs and the holiday have recently inspired a short story, written by prison author Kelly Patrick Riggs, to be published at some future time.
The short story features a blind priest who is imprisoned for months before his execution. During his troubling time the priest is given food by a young woman who is physically handicapped from previous injuries. The couple was able to speak to each other through the hole where she passed his food, which wasn't even big enough for an adult human head to pass. As unlikely as it was, love found a way. The two lonely souls developed affections for one another and later consummated their love with a single kiss through the small hole. The priest was then executed later the same day, February 14th. The date was forever branded in the woman's heart as her Saint Valentine's Day, if not for that one day she may never have known of blind and unconditional love.
The kind of love that Mr. Riggs imagined in his heart and described in his short story is rare and often unrealized in our modern day. But those who take a chance, by meeting a prisoner, have the potential to find the love he described. A love that is much too often overlooked and believed to be all but unobtainable.
For more information on meeting a prisoner, and possibly finding a love that is all but unimaginable, visit: www.Penacon.com.
About Penacon
Penacon (https://www.penacon.com) is based in North Dighton, Massachusetts (MA). Their goal is to help those within the incarcerated community to gain friendship, make romantic connections and support a good overall mental attitude. They bring caring people from all over the world to the prisoners who need a positive influence. Whether people are looking for a new friend, the love of their life, or a positive and supportive mentor; this is the right place to come. Penacon cares about those who matter the most, prisoners and those who are willing to love them. Browse their site and their personal ads, view the pictures and profiles of inmates and find that special person who can fill that deep need in a lonely heart.
