The History of Valentine's Day

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial -- which probably occurred around 270 A.D -- others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.

The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February -- Valentine's Day -- should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap".

Special thanks to American Greetings and 123 Greetings

Do you need successful tips for your small business website?

That’s it. You’re ready to tap into the online market. But where should you start? There are all sorts of websites out there, and clearly some of them are working much harder than others. How can you be sure your website will be a champion?

The key? Planning and Strategy. Think of your website as an employee and make sure you hire the right one. If you approach this project with clear goals in mind, you will be rewarded with a lucrative asset to your business. What’s most important? The questions below will get you started.

1. What are your specific business goals?

How could your website help you achieve them? Need to increase add-on sales? Your website could educate customers about using your products or services together for greater value. Need to reduce time spent in customer service on the phone? You can promote your website as your primary customer service centre, helping to redirect queries that can be easily solved. A little time spent planning a job description for your site will result in a website that works harder for your money.

2. Who is your target market?

What are they looking for in your type of business? Your website will have to appeal to them and speak to their needs. If your site clearly addresses your customers’ needs, visitors will spend more time there and will be more likely to become paying customers. How can your website add value for them? If you need ideas have a look at competitor websites and imagine you are their customer. Identify what they have done well and capitalize on their mistakes. Look at other websites that you like. How did they make such a good impression?

3. What do customers like best about your business?

Is it your high quality products? Your value for money? Your speedy customer service? Your friendly staff? Whatever it is your website should reflect those aspects of your business. They are what set you apart. If you’re not sure why people come back to you consider undertaking a customer satisfaction survey to find out.

4. Do you have identifiable branding that represents the unique personality of your business?

If not, develop a branding identity that will set you apart from competitors, starting with a logo that communicates the character of your business. The visual design of your website is an extension of your brand identity. Be sure your website is dressed for success and represents your business as nothing less than credible and professional.

5. Do you have the time and skills to prepare your own content?

Be realistic here. Your written text should be concise, focus on customer needs, and use language that your customers understand. If writing isn’t your thing, consider hiring a copywriter to massage your copy or even write it for you. Make use of images and video where it will be useful to customers. If you don’t have quality images at hand, consider hiring a photographer or buying stock photography. Don’t be tempted to cut corners and compromise quality just to save a few bucks. The impact of your content is critical to your website’s success.

6. How can you take advantage of interactivity?

There’s no substitute for experiencing your product or service in person, but as this may be your only chance to make an impression, make the most of it! Establish what your customers are interested in, give it to them and lead them to action through the interactive nature of the internet. Engage them with online competitions, printable discount vouchers, product demonstrations, live help, customer feedback surveys, etc. Interactivity can also be a great way to build your customer database or gather market research about your visitors.

7. What is a realistic budget for your website?

To plan and implement a website strategy you’ll need to invest upwards of a few thousand dollars to do it right the first time. Think carefully about your budget. Does it seem reasonable given your business goals? Think about the bottom line benefits in terms of potential cost savings as well as revenue potential.

8. How can you promote your website?

First and foremost, put your domain name on everything! Letterhead, invoices, signs, sales tags, whatever you can. It’s much easier to remember a website address than a phone number. To attract new customers via the internet you’ll need to harness the search engines. Search engine marketing involves optimizing your website so it’s visible to customers searching for your type of business. If you are in a competitive market, you may need to budget for comprehensive search engine optimization for your site. If you’re looking at search engines as a major source of new customers you may also consider adding ‘pay-per-click’ advertising to the mix.

9. Will you manage your own updates?

Keeping your website fresh provides a reason for visitors to return to your website. If you plan to make regular content updates, consider investing in a Content Management System costing as little as a few hundred dollars. It makes more sense to pay your website developer for ongoing development rather than simple changes to content that you can make yourself.

10. How do you know if your website is a champion?

After your site has been live for several months, quantify the gains generated by your website and identify the impact your investment has made on the business. Using software tools you can establish which parts of your website are performing well, and which parts need tweaking. A website strategy is never really complete. You can always improve on the status quo. Set a regular schedule for review and don’t forget to budget for strategy changes and ongoing development.

Getting started

Now that you have the key elements, concentrate on the area that you know best…your business. Whatever your goals make sure you work with a web developer who can help you fine-tune your ideas and turn them into a profitable website strategy

---------- All the very best; Get more success in your Business ----------

How to Start & Grow Your Own Business

In the last three months I read a lot of books and articles about how to start and grow a successful small business. Usually, before I read in detail on a domain or theme I gather a big bunch of materials and skim them in order to get a panoramic view of the domain. After this I read deeper into the gathered materials and outline a new perspective on the theme. From now on I read in detail, in other words, fill the gaps like a puzzle.

Here I show you my vision on how to build your own successful business step by step:

1. Identify an Opportunity

A good way to identify a business opportunity is to make use of your keen observation. Whenever you find yourself in the street traffic or online traffic use your observation to identify niches that aren’t filled or are filled in a way that can be improved. Become an opportunity detective. Train your eyes and mind to detect signs of business opportunities.

2. Find a Creative Way to Fructify the Opportunity

Once you identified an opportunity, the next step is to think as many ways to exploit the opportunity as you can conceive. Don’t assume that there is just a single way to fructify the opportunity. The best way to find as many ways as possible is to put at work not only your own mind but others (friends, colleagues and acquaintances) as well. After this you have to decide yourself which one is the best.

3. Research the Market

This means that you have to gather, analyze and interpret information about your potential customers, about existing competition and about the product or service you offer. I suggest you to begin with what is called secondary data, information that already exist on internet, newspapers and magazines. All you have to do in this case is to find that information and use it in the decision-making process. Primary data suppose you to organize a survey, to apply a questionnaire to your potential customers. This brings you more valuable and personalized information but cost you more time and money.

4. Forming your Business

If you passed successfully the first three steps, this means that you found a gap or niche in the market and now you can begin to form your business. This means a lot of legal requirements. First of all you have to choose: a sole trader, a partnership or a limited company. For a start up first and second (if your potential partner is a reliable person) options are most suitable.

5. Plan your Business

A successful business needs first a well thought and written plan. Who do you think will succeed: one who manages his business by chance and circumstances, or one who manages his business guided by a step-by-step plan (even if there is a lot of adjustment and adaptation)?

I like to think a business plan in terms of Operations Manual of a franchise. Operations manual tell you in detail all you have to do and this is enough (if the manual is well done) for you to succeed, even if you aren’t an expert.

6. Administration & Management

Once you formed and planned your business all you have to do is to creatively administrate and develop your business. We talk here about the four dimensions of management:

Planning – it means setting goals, objectives and strategies to achieve them.
Organizing – imply designing, scheduling, decision-making, time and stress management.
Leading – team building, motivating, directing, delegating and coordinating.
Evaluating – this means setting standards, measuring results and propose changes if necessary.

7. Human Resources Management

It is possible that at the beginning (home-based stage of a business) you don’t need staff or employees. But if you grow and expand your business, you’ll need to build a team. The process of building your team require first interviewing and recruiting, then motivating and collaborating.

Prepare your Environment then Focus on High Priority Tasks

Once you become conscious that you aren’t productive in the field you consider your priority, what you have to do is to ask yourself: can I do something to change or improve this situation? You must be aware that there are obstacles that aren’t in your power but mostly your productivity depends on you. After you realized that, the next is to ask yourself: what can I do to improve my effectiveness? If you do a search on Google.com you’ll find a lot of ideas about how to improve your productivity.

Here you have two essential steps you must consider if you want to be effective and efficient:

Prepare your Environment/Workspace

All the tasks we have to work on must be done in a certain place. Usually these places are arranged as workspaces with almost all you need to finish your tasks. But even so you have to tailor your workspace for work. The most important thing to do for a proper environment is to remove all potential distractions. Another important thing is to clean up and keep a clean environment (a clean desk and desktop). Make sure the temperature is proper.

Focus on High Priority Tasks

Usually when we start our daily work we tend to begin with the simple and low priority tasks. We do this because we think in this way we’ll clean and simplify our work. But this is a trap. If we begin with these low priority tasks our peak time and energy is spent on something insignificant. Then they tend to multiply because they are many and send us from one to another in a vicious chain. In this way we often find ourselves too tired and too distracted to work efficiently on our high priority tasks.

So the best way to begin your daily work is to make an ABC list of priorities (A – very important and urgent, B – important but not urgent, C – less important) and start with A priorities. Stick with A priorities until you finish them all and don’t let C tasks lure you.

Tomorrow you will find the news about “How to Start & Grow Your Own Business” from Amousia Blog.

10 Scientific findings ways to make others Happiness

Have we become self obsessed? Has it become all about our happiness? I don't think so. The most rewarding thing, even today, is to see someone you care about happy. Here are ten ways how one can contribute to increase the happiness of the world around.

10. Appreciate people. Make each day special for them. All it takes is for you to compliment their new hairstyle, that day’s attire or just their pretty smile. Yes, everyone has a pretty smile.

9. Crack a joke in the middle of a tense situation. Easing an uptight situation can be the biggest support one can show to others.

8. Be a good listener. Let people complete their conversation. Speech maybe silver, but silence is golden.

7. Do not keep others waiting. Acknowledge the person's value. Just being on time for a meeting, get together, party or dinner can make someone’s day. On the contrary, the failure to do so can break someone’s enthusiasm towards the following event.

6. Use the 3 magic words - Please, Sorry and Thank you - these are capable of metamorphosing any difficult situation.

5. Be the ice-breaker. Be it between common friends or your own friend and yourself. The problem understood is the equivalent to the problem solved.

4. Give a big teddy hug to people who deserve it and the people who need it. You will be surprised by the kind of wound a hug can heal.

3. Go out of your way to help others. Reach out a little from your comfort zone, and you might just be helping someone find his/her meaning in life.

2. Be generous with your praise. If they've done well, be quick to give them a pat on the back, so that they will know what they have done right! Besides, it will definitely lift their spirits, even at work!

1. Keep yourself happy. Enjoy life and smile often. If you look closely, there’s a lot to smile about in life. So smile, and then you can spread the joy. Hooked

Written by Varshaa Negi
Posted by Amousia Team

Google Adsense Top 10 Paying Topics

Dear Members,

Today I would like share about Google Adsense to earn money from on-line, through 10 different Paying Topics for Adsense.

Adsense is a way many Bloggers earn money. Some Bloggers deliberately write content according to the best paying types of keywords. Instead of quantity, they aim for quality. I took a look at the Top paying list and am pretty amazed that some companies would actually pay so much for just a click. The keywords vary but I have grouped them since it is easier to write for a group to topics instead of writing for keywords.

Interesting many of the top paying keywords are in the Financial, Medical and Legal industries. I guess these industries are really high margin and they can recover their cost from just having one customer. It also reflects a very American market as the products are heavily slanted towards the needs of the American consumer.

Top 10 Paying Topics for Adsense

1. Loans
2. Attorney
3. Insurance
4. Mesothelioma (a form of illness brought about by asbestos)
5. Lasik
6. Credit cards
7. Refinance
8. Domain name
9. Singles (In the context of dating)
10. Plastic Surgery

To see the full list, click here

Another thing that I would like to point out is that the highest paying keywords do not mean that a lot of people search for them. In fact these keywords do not even appear in the Top 10 Search terms. If you see here, you will see that most of the searches are about brands and have nothing to do with the above. This means that traffic to such a site dedicated to high paying keywords might be too little to justify your effort. People will also not bother linking their Blogs or websites to you as very little people are actually interested in reading or Blogging about the topics above.

My personal feel is that the top paying keywords represent a shady but profitable part of both online and offline business word. However instead of having an entire site dedicated to the topics above, perhaps a better strategy will to do occasional post about the topics on your Blog.

Regards,
Amousia Team.

10 Steps to get a Great Reference for your Next Job

February 16, 2008

Dear Members,

Today I would like share about the Great Reference for your Next Job; See below the steps;

10 Steps to get a Great Reference for your Next Job

Employers check references because they need a second opinion on their potential hire. Everyone should have references. But how do you get a great reference that will outshine the others? Here is a simple 10 Step tutorial to get consistent and presentable references from your previous colleagues.

1. Find a suitable referee. They are generally people whom have work with you in a professional capacity. Examples can include direct manager, peers or clients.
2. Arrange for a meeting or phone conversation with your referee. Review questions that may be asked
3. Tell your referee about the kind of job you are seeking. Ask if he is comfortable recommending you for such a position. Give hi a copy of your resume, clarify your accomplishments and answer questions he may have
4. Suggest to our referee that you would appreciate strong recommendations in the key areas and traits mentioned above
5. Ask the referee what he thinks about your weaknesses or developmental areas, for example:” May I ask you what you think my developmental needs are, so that you and I are consistent?”
6. With former bosses, clarify reasons for leaving. Tell them what you are saying and ask if they are comfortable saying that as wel. You are not asking your referee to lie. You merely need a congruent story as reasons for leaving may be vague at times
7. Write a summary so your referee can refer to it. The summary should consist of key points raised during your conversation and the traits and strengths, developmental needs and reasons for leaving
8. Tell your referee who will be getting in touch with him so he is not surpired when the call comes. Even better, schedule the call yourself if possible
9. Gain your referee’s commitment to call you if anyone contacts him.
10. Keep your referee posted on your job search.

Web Reference: http://www.todaysten.com/2007/06/10-steps-to-get-great-reference-for.html

Regards,

Amousia Team.

Welcome to Amousia Blogger.

Hi & Hello,


We are proud to welcome you to this Amousia blog. This Blog is going to give more information about Knowledge & Wealth. We believe that you all are ready to taste or refine knowledge from Amousia.

Happy Reading!

Regards,
Amousia Team.