Why Love isn’t Just for Valentine’s Day

In ancient Rome, 13th – 15th February became a pagan fertility festival and this is probably the foundation for using this time of year to celebrate love. It became an official feast day in 496AD following the martyrdom of two Christians, Valentine of Terni and Valentine of Rome.

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Chaucer is thought to have made the first link with 14th February and romantic love towards the end of the fourteenth century, as Richard II became engaged to Anne of Bohemia. St Valentine’s Day is mentioned by Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and people started passing love notes to each other in the middle of the eighteenth century.

Hallmark produced its first Valentine’s cards 100 years ago in 1913, and for many that’s when Valentine’s Day began in earnest as a modern celebration. For generations it’s been the time when we let our partners know how much we love them, with flowers, cards, chocolates or a candlelit dinner à deux.

But, when you pause to think about it, the occasion can seem rather random and arbitrary.

One of the weirder things about the origins of Valentine’s Day is that it’s also the time of year when birds find their mates after the winter and before spring arrives. That can make the whole occasion seem even more detached - we’re humans, not birds!

Valentine’s Day is just one day of 365 in the year, and so it’s not really enough on its own to show your partner or close family members exactly what they mean to you. In any relationship, it’s vital that you show your appreciation more than annually until February 14 rolls around again.

So, while no-one is saying you necessarily ought to avoid Valentine’s Day completely, don’t forget about using other points throughout the year to treat your family or other half. Springtime, for example, is a great time for excellent deals on city breaks to a wide range of destinations. Recharge the batteries and relax as you discover somewhere new together.

Or why not take your partner to the theater in March for a special treat, just because you want to, just because you love them, and make a weekend of it? You may feel as though your other half is so much at your core they’re as integral to you as your limbs or vital organs. Make them feel as vital to you as the lungs you breathe with by treating them every day of the New Year.

Australia’s Spectacular Rock Formations

Formed by Mother Nature‘s creative hand using weathering and erosion as tools, Australia’s rock formations are beauties to behold. Still undergoing constant changes, Australia‘s rock formations are considered some of the most spectacular beauties of Nature. Read on to know more about these impressive rock artworks from Down Under:

DEVIL'S MARBLES

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Devils Marbles or Karlu Karlu, as the aborigines called this sacred site, is situated near Wauchope about 114 km south of Tennant Creek, in the Northern Territory. The Devils Marbles, 4 meters high, 13-33 meters wide, are a collection of gigantic round, red-colored boulders formed millions of years ago. These rocks are the end result of result of the hardening of magma under a thick layer of sandstone. As time passes, the sandstone were eroded causing the granite to expand and cracks were formed. The Devil’s Marbles are still undergoing transformation – eroding into a square cubes of rock. Scientists predicts this Nature wonder will soon be just little pebbles, 50 million years from now!

THREE SISTERS

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The Three Sisters is located in Jamison Valley, in New South Wales, Australia. Another spectacular rock formation, Three sisters was formed by sandstone erosion. The sandstone at blue Mountain was soft in nature that water seeks through little cracks, slowly enlarging them that tend to erode eventually. According to local legend, three Aboriginal sisters fell in love with three men from a rival tribe. Since marriage was prohibited by tribal law; their father, a witch doctor turned them into rocks to protect them. But he was killed during the battle and no one else can turned them back to their human form.

HYDEN WAVE ROCK

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Wave Rock is an unusual landform located near the wheatbelt town of Hyden, in Western Australia. About 14 meters high and 110m long, Wave rock is composed of granite formed 2700 million years ago. The gray, red, brown and yellow vertical stripes of the Wave are chemical deposits (carbonates and iron hydroxide) brought about by rains. Wave rock has become one of Australia’s tourist destination, attracting more than 140,000 tourists yearly.

Bungle Bungles

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The Bungle Bugle is located in the Purnululu National Park, Western Australia. These spectacular beehive-shaped rock formation was formed over 350 million years ago. This unique massif rising as high as 578 meters above sea level, appears like terrified tigers, striped in orange and black. The domes orange color bands consist iron and manganese compound, while the black stripes are the result of dark algae accumulated in the softer surface layers of rock. In July 2003, Purnululu National Park and the Bungle Bungles site were declared a World Heritage site.

The PINNACLES

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One of the must see sites in Australia, The Pinnacles are limestone formations located within Nambung National Park, in Cervantes, Western Australia. Nambung National Park covers an area of 17,487 hectares, and home to a wide array of wildlife. These incredible land formation, with some several meters tall, is believed to be formed from seashells about millions of years ago. Attracting over 250,000 visitors each year, Nambung National Park and the Pinnacles is a must see place in Australia.

12 APOSTLES

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Originally called Sow and Piglets, the Twelve Apostles are giant rocks stack off the shore of the water in Port Campbell National Park in Victoria, Australia. Rising up to 70 meters from the waters, these sandstone were formed around 10 to 20 million years ago. At that time, the ocean constantly bombarded the coastline thus eroding the soft limestone. These natural process, formed caves in the cliffs, eventually became arches, that eventually collapsed; forming nine stacks measuring up to 45 meters high. The stacks are vulnerable to further erosion from the waves. On 3 July 2005, a 50 meter tall stack collapsed, leaving eight still standing,

AYERS ROCK

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Ayers Rock or Uluru is one of Australia’s famous landmark. Rising 348 meters high above sea level, this sandstone rock is located in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Northern Territory, central Australia. Uluru was formed about 500 million year ago. Caves, waterholes and more than hundred species of birds can be found in the site. Uluru is known to change color throughout the day and year.

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