Valentine’s Day: A Celebration of All Kinds of Love

Valentine’s Day is a holiday dedicated to expressing love and gratitude for those you care about. Although, many people think of Valentine’s Day as a holiday solely for expressing romantic love, that is no longer the case. Over the years, Valentine’s Day has evolved into a day for expressing love in all its forms.

The root of Valentine’s Day can be traced back to the early Christian Church and the Feast of Saint Valentine who lived in the third century AD. According to one account, Saint Valentine became known as the patron saint of love because he presided over the weddings of Christian soldiers who were forbidden to marry, and he was imprisoned for it.

Valentine’s Day first became a celebration of romantic love in the Middle Ages when Geoffrey Chaucer immortalized the holiday in a love poem written in honor of the one year anniversary of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia. This tradition continued into the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when the act of delivering a paper valentine to your beloved increased in popularity.

In the second-half of the twentieth century, more and more people began celebrating Valentine’s Day in a platonic way by expressing love to family, friends, and even casual acquaintances. Today, no matter your relationship status, Valentine’s Day is a great day to tell the important people in your life how you feel. You can even show yourself some love by taking time to relax and pamper yourself.

The Birches Assisted Living has spent much of early February preparing for and celebrating Valentine’s Day. On February 8, Girl Scouts from Highlands School in La Grange kicked off the celebration when they came to The Birches to make heart window decorations with the residents. On February 13, Birches residents and associates participated in a "Show and Share" where they brought in an item that has sentimental value to them and talked about it with the group.

On February 13, The Birches also hosted “Manicures and Martinis,” an opportunity for Birches residents and associates to show themselves some love by taking advantage of free massages, manicures, and martinis at The Birches’ on-site salon, Salon PS.

In order to express gratitude to Birches Nurses, Resident Assistants, and other associates, Birches residents helped make Daily Survival Kits as a Valentine’s Day appreciation gift. The kit contains a collection of items that help remind the recipient what is important in life: a rubber band to remind you to remain flexible, an eraser to remind you that everyone makes mistakes, a candy kiss to remind you that everyone needs a hug or compliment every day, and many other simple objects with a greater significance.

Today, on the actual day of Valentine’s Day, residents will participate in a Valentine’s Day party with a performance by the Retired Rhythm Rascals and guests from Young at Heart Adult Daycare Center in Countryside. Residents will also be given roses to remind them that they are all well-loved and valued members of The Birches community!