We celebrate Valentine’s Day in honor of Saint Valentine every year on February 14th—but who is the legend behind the holiday? The answer is uncertain, really, but it involves miraculous healing, secret marriage ceremonies, and beekeeping.
Tag Archives: love
The Language of Love
Why do we have such strange ways of saying we’re in love—whether we’re infatuated, head over heels, or crushing on someone? The answer involves structural metaphors, semantic change, and secret diaries.
Honeymoon
Why does the word honeymoon refer to a vacation a couple takes after getting married? The answer involves myths about mead, poetry about love, and a warning about waning.
I Heart . . . Symbolism
Why does the heart shape look absolutely nothing like a human heart? And on a related note, why is the heart, anatomically correct or otherwise, associated with love? The answer involves herbal contraceptives, pinecones, and Aristotle’s faulty understanding of human anatomy.
All the Whyser 