Valentines Day in Michigan
Our staff has pulled together some great links and articles for Valentine’s Day to tell you more about the holiday and give you some great entertainment and gift ideas.
We’ll start off with this St. Valentine’s Day information from Wikipedia. It offers essential holiday facts such as: In Ancient Rome, the day of February 15 was Lupercalia, the festival of Lupercus, the god of fertility, who was represented as half-naked and dressed in goat skins. (Note that Lupercian behavior is probably frowned upon by your community).
Leelanau Enterprise has a nice feature about 35 married couples who have been “sweethearts” for more than 50 years who were recognized for their commitment by students last week. The story and the secrets the couples shared make a great read for Valentine’s Day (or any time of the year). Several readers share their romantic stories in the Lansing State Journal.
The way to a man (or woman’s) heart is often through the stomach, and the State of Michigan web site has some great recipes for Valentine’s Day including a Michigan Cherry Cream Pie that would probably guarantee your valentine would be happy (if a trifle portlier).
The state also recommends some Michigan Wines for your Valentines including Chateau Chantal ‘Celebrate’, St. Julian Sparkling Raspberry, several Michigan Cherry Wines and (of course) L. Mawby’s ‘Sex’ (a sparkling wine that we are certain enjoys at least a 25% sales boost due to the name). In addition, they point to an amazing number of Michigan winter wine events (many in early February with a romantic angle).
Travel Michigan has put together a great selection of Romantic Escapes in Michigan. Their getaways and packages are perfect for couples who are looking to get away from it all (but not each other).
DetroitWonk has a post titled Valentine’s Day: Detroit is For Lovers that features Metro Detroit-related gifts for significant others. Items include a nifty “Detroit is for Lovers T-Shirt” from Pure Detroit and Motor City Makeup. They STRONGLY suggest getting your significant other something more than just lip balm and a t-shirt … maybe our readers could offer some suggestions via the link above. Also check out Unpredictable, Urban Flavor’s Detroit Valentine’s Page that features something for all of the senses including (for smell) the tip to (instead of sending roses), “Send your sweetheart a bouquet of stargazer lilies. These beautiful lilies have a dark pink center with white edges and can fill a room with its sweet scent. Plus, these pretty lilies last days longer than your typical rose.”
Speaking of flowers that aren’t roses and that last longer, my florist (who doesn’t have a web site) gave me the great idea of giving live flowers. The hyacinth I gave remained in bloom for weeks and was very well received. Plus, we’ll be able to plant the bulbs in the fall.
No Valentines Day page would be complete without something for the many folks who are less than fond of the holiday. Jenna Passut of the Oakland Press has observations of and web sites for those who don’t much like Valentine’s Day.
We also have a large number of Michigan web sites to check out (though if we’re missing one, be sure to add a link to it). Click for…
Flowers & Florists … say it with flowers
Chocolate … there’s also candy companies
Candles … lighting the way for romance for thousands of years
Jewelry … silver & gold
Bath & Body … sweet scents for your sweetie