The Issue of Wonder ~and~ a brief history of St. Valentine

This issue, filled to the gills with brilliant stuffs, dedicated to wonder and the magnificence of place features:

Poetry by:

Matina Stamatakis (New York)~
Logan Ryan Smith (San Francisco)~
Beth Lifson (Portland)~
Chris McCreary (Philadelphia)~

Paintings & Poetry by:

Henry Denander (Stockholm)~

Artwork by:

Bruce New (Kentucky)~
Claudio Parentela (Italy)~
Seldon Hunt (New York)~

My pieces on:

Kris Waldherr's The Lover's Path Tarot (New York)~
Strange Attractor Journal, in the company of an interview with its editor, Mark Pilkington (UK)~
The Strange Beautiful, The Wonder of Home (Brooklyn)~

And last, but not ever, least:

The Misanthrope's Guide to a Musical Valentine, by Duncan Harman (Glasgow)~

~Thank you for reading!~

John Callcott Horsley (1817 - 1903)
Oil on canvas, 1865

History of Valentine's Day

St. Valentine's Day was supposedly started in the time of the Roman Empire. In Ancient Rome, the date of February 14 was a holiday to honor the Queen of Roman Goddesses and Gods, Juno. Juno was known as the Goddess of women and marriage. The next day, February 15, was the first day of the Festival known as the Feast of Lupercia.

On February 14, it was said that the young boys and girls of the villages would write down the names of every girl and place these names in a jar, out of which each young man would have to draw a name of a girl and this particular maiden would be their partner for the duration of the festival. Sometimes these pairings would last a year and result in marriage.

These rituals under the laws of Claudius were banned as the Emperor believed that the reasons why men would not go to war were because they did not want to leave their lovers or families. As a result, all marriages and engagements were canceled - and Saint Valentine ,a Roman priest, was said to have married these couples in secret. He was executed for this on the 14th day of February.

While Saint Valentine was in jail, it is said that he fell in love with the jailer's daughter. By a miracle, or some say, by the prayers of Valentine, she gained her sight and, as a last farewell, in a note, he wrote to her, "From Your Valentine".

A variation of the origins of Valentine's Day is that he was a priest who was also a physician and would cure the sick. He was also said to have tried to cure the jailer's blind daughter and was arrested and, on the day of his execution, wrote a note, as a final farewell, saying "From your Valentine," which, some say, is what caused her to gain her sight.

It is also said whilst he was in jail awaiting execution that he was sent little notes and flowers from the children whom he had helped when they were sick. This also may have been one of the reasons why he sent a farewell note to the jailers� daughter and why we send valentines.

St Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14 of each year; the reason why it is celebrated on this day is because this was the day that the Patron Saint of Lovers "St Valentine" was supposedly executed on. On this day lovers all around the world mark this occasion as a day for sending poems, cards, flowers or candy, etc. They might also be a social gathering or ball to mark the occasion.

Another Interesting origin is that St Valentine was the patron Saint of Epilepsy reason was that he was supposedly a sufferer and took a keen interest in those who suffered from this affliction and also that those who suffered this disease were suffering from Valentine's sickness.