playing into apocrypha's hands

I tried looking up the origins of Valentine's Day and ran across something interesting. According to one account*, Valentine was a Christian during the reign of Emperor Claudius. To increase the size of his armies, Claudius instituted a law forbidding men younger than 30 to marry (the idea being that unattached men would go to the army). In defiance of the law, Valentine performed secret marriages for young men until he was found out and beheaded.

It got me thinking. In honor of St. Valentine, let's celebrate all those couples whose marriages are currently prohibited by the government. May their unions outlast the bigotry of others, may their love show the world there is nothing to fear, and may those of us outside their relationships work as Valentine did to support and aid them.

And come on up to Massachusetts sometime.



*This is from the incredibly reliable source of "some guy on the web," so take it with a whole shaker full of salt. But it makes for a good story.