At Home With Mary Louise – Season After Season

I’m Sending You a Valentine

By Mary Louise
Soulcial Scene Contributor

As a young girl my thoughts of Valentine’s Day were candy and roses for your significant other. However as I got older and did my research, I discovered that Valentine’s Day has so much history. Celebrations on that day started about five centuries ago or more.

And the celebration is worldwide. In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, Italy and Japan, among other countries.

Valentine’s Day is so big that nearly 150 million cards are exchanged on Valentine’s Day. And in the U.S. alone, over 40,000 workers are employed at chocolate factories.

On the other hand, my research also reveals that the Catholic Church recognizes at least 12 different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, not all of whom were martyred. The saint for whom the day is named is the Valentine who was a priest during the Third Century in Rome.

There came a time in that long gone century when Roman Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and children. Valentine continued to perform marriages for young people in secret – how about that! When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death - beheaded.

Oh my goodness! Valentine’s Day has really educated me about the true reason for this outstanding day meant for lovers.

While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial, which probably occurred in 278 C.E., others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of “Lupercalia.”

Celebrated in the middle of February, Lurpercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the founders of Rome – Romulus and Remus.

Now you have it. Valentine’s Day is more than candy, flowers and Hallmark cards. It has a history going back for centuries. Remember when Valentine’s Day approaches, it’s the most celebrated day on the planet – by over 62 percent of earth’s inhabitants.
 

Enjoy your chocolates and those beautiful red roses and outstanding cards and remember the overwhelming history for this awesome holiday

Happy Valentine’s Day from my home to yours.

Mary Louise’s Famous Valentine’s Dessert – Sugar Cookies w/Pecans

Ingredients:

·         ½ cup granulated sugar

·          ¼ cup pecan halves

·         1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookies

·         ¼ cup packed brown sugar

·         1 tsp vanilla

Step-By-Step

Step #1

In an 8-inch heavy skillet, melt ¼ cup of granulated sugar over medium-low heat – about three minutes without stirring, until golden brown. Watch carefully, as my Grandmother Tudda would say, to avoid scorching.

Remove from heat. Stir in pecan halves until coated. Pour mixture onto sheet of foil. Cool until hard, about 15 minutes. Finely chop pecan-sugar candy.

Step #2

Heat oven to 325 degrees. In large bowl, break up cookie dough. Stir brown sugar and vanilla until well blended. Stir in chopped pecan-Sugar candy.

Step #3

Using about one measuring tsp dough for each, shape dough into ball and roll in remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar, place two inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets …

Step #4

Bake 10-15 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool two minutes; remove from cookie sheets

My boys would be ecstatic when my sugar cookies with pecans came out of the oven

Copyright © 2015 by [The Sojourner's Truth]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 08/16/18 14:12:42 -0700.

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