Playlist of the week: Celebrate love

Ansley Puckett, Reporter
February 14, 2022

The origins of Valentine’s Day and its namesake have a complicated history. Some accounts say it was a priest named Valentine that helped marry couples when marriage was outlawed for young men. Other accounts say it was Valentine, a bishop, that the holiday gets its name from.

Wherever the name originates from, the Catholic Church declared him a saint and marked Feb. 14 as the day Claudius II executed him. This history, combined with the pagan holiday, Lupercalia, and a certain Greek god, created Valentine’s Day.

Celebrated in Canada, Mexico, France, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, Valentine’s Day is known as a day of romance, but early celebrations of the holiday saw both lovers and friends sending and receiving tokens of affection.

In 2010, beloved TV character Leslie Knope of “Parks and Recreation” coined the term “Galentine’s Day,” where friends celebrate their love for each other. These origins mixed to make modern-day Valentine’s Day a day of not only romantic love but a day of love between friends, family and self-love.

This Valentine’s Day, celebrate all the love in your life, whether it be between your partner, your friends or yourself. To mark a holiday created by complicated origins and a long evolution, enjoy a playlist filled with songs that celebrate all forms of love. Happy Valentine’s Day.

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