GIVE THE GIFTOF LIFE FEB. 14 IS NATIONAL DONOR DAY
JOIN A DONOR DASH. Donor Dash fundraising events pop up all over the country on National Donor Day. These noncompetitive 5K running and walking events are designed to bring donors and recipients together and keep hope alive for those who are currently waiting for a donation. To learn more, or to register for an event, check out DonorAlliance.org. PARTICIPATE IN #STARTTHECONVERSATION. Donor Alliance, a nonprofit that works to promote organ donation, began the #StartTheConversation campaign as a way to help spread awareness about organ and tissue donation. Starting the conversation can be as simple as sharing that you registered with your friends and family or as personal as sharing a story about how organ donation has touched your life or the lives of your loved ones. Don’t let another Valentine’s Day come and go in a tide of cellophane, candy hearts, and cheesy cards. This year, get involved in National Donor Day. After all, what better way is there to express the value of love than giving the gift of life?
There are quite a few modern misconceptions about Valentine’s Day — one of them being that it’s strictly a Hallmark-invented holiday to celebrate romance with commercialized chocolate and cards — but its beginnings are quite gruesome and mysterious. The celebration begins with the myths of three different Roman Catholic saints named Valentine or Valentinus. It’s a contentious issue as to which one is the true namesake of the holiday. Most of these myths begin after Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for young men, contending that single men made better soldiers. Valentine, a priest, rejected the law and married young couples in secret. When he was found out and thrown into prison, he met and fell in love with the jail keeper’s daughter. In his final letter to her before execution, he wrote “From your Valentine,” from which many historians credit the ongoing usage and variations of the term. Another legend suggests that Valentine went to jail for different reasons: He was trying to help beaten and tortured Christians escape Roman prisons. Other stories suggest a different origin altogether: a bishop named Saint Valentine of Terni who was also beheaded by Claudius II outside Rome. You could say the Catholic Church avenged the martyred Saint Valentine men by reforming a pagan Roman holiday as their own. Lupercalia was a fertility festival in February dedicated to the Roman god of agriculture, Faunus. Men would gently slap the backs of With all the cards, chocolates, and expensive dinners, it’s easy to get cynical about Valentine’s Day. However, National Donor Day also falls on Feb. 14, and it can refocus our attention back on the real meaning of the day: love. In the U.S., 20 people die each day while waiting for an organ transplant. Losing loved ones is one of the most painful aspects of the human experience, and while it is unavoidable, organ donation offers a pathway to help prevent that loss and keep more love in the world. In the spirit of that love, here are a few ways you can get involved with National Donor Day this Feb. 14. REGISTER AS AN ORGAN DONOR. Signing yourself up is easy and can be done either online or in person at your local Department of Motor Vehicles. You’ll need official identification to register. Registration is not permanent and you will always have the option to change your mind. Once registered, you will not need to carry your donor card with you, as your status exists in the registry. WHO WAS SAINT VALENTINE?
women with goat skin, dipped in sacrificial blood, to encourage their fertility in the upcoming year. Then, the names of women would be tossed in an urn and men would draw out the name of their girlfriend for the rest of the year. By the end of the 5th century, the festival was outlawed as “un-Christian” and Feb. 14 was dedicated as St. Valentine’s Day.
Valentine greetings were popular through the Middle Ages, but the first written Valentine appears in 1400s from an imprisoned duke to his wife. Finally, lovers began sending each other poetry and dedications. Chaucer and Shakespeare further romanticize the holiday in their work, only encouraging the popularity of the celebration.
Next time you send out a Valentine, remember you’re participating in an ancient holiday even if the chocolate and cards are more recent additions.
2 ZDFIRM.COM
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