Define made up?

     So I am going through my daily news feeds (And believe me when I say I have a lot of them) and I come across one woman's rant about how Valentine's Day isn't really a true holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving.  (She also added Hanukkah and misspelled it to the "Made up" Holiday list but I am not going to even begin to ponder that one.)  Her long winded and grammatically incorrect tirade got me thinking.  Exactly how do you define "Made up?"
     First, let us cover some basic facts.  Yes it is true that Hallmark and such have co-opted this holiday as a means of making obscene amounts of cash.  Of course, the same can be said of businesses in general and holidays like Christmas, Easter etc.  However, the actual practices associated with St. Valentine's Day date back centuries.  The oldest known Written Valentine was made in AD 1400, but Valentine's greetings date back much further then that.  The concept of Valentine's Day as a day of celebration for love and romance even longer than that.  One legend even states that Valentine himself made the first valentine when he cut paper hearts out for the daughter of his jailer and signed them, "Your Valentine."  Course that last part is purely legend bordering on myth.  So if Valentine's Day qualifies as a "Made Up" Holiday, then it is a very very old made up holiday.
     Okay now that we got that bit of history out of the way, lets look at the concept of the "Made Up Holiday."  Whether people want to admit it or not, pretty much all "Holidays" are made up.  Not a single of the holidays we celebrate today jumped fully formed from the pages of history and said "Hey look at me, celebrate me."  None of them. Zip, Zero, Nada!  Let us look at some of the biggies.
     Christmas.  Okay if you believe the Bible (Which I do) then at least one of the ways we celebrate Christmas has some grounding.  The Three Wise Men gave gifts to Jesus and Family on the night of his birth.  In return, Jesus gave everyone the planet a chance at everlasting life.  (Course, to this day that is why most people feel inadequate when giving presents cause how do you top everlasting life? Somehow socks and a tie don't measure up.)  Pretty much everything from then on is "made up."  Added piecemeal over the centuries.  Christmas Trees?  Check!  Sparkly tinsel and ornaments?  Check?  (Huh I was going to add Christmas Caroling to the list but was struck with the idea that since angels sand to Shepherds that night, that might qualify.)  So you see, a Holiday based on an event and slowly added to as time went on.  Kind of like Good Old St. Valentine and his day.
     Easter!  Now that's a huge example.  Take another event (Same guy too) and then completely glam it out.  I am no Bible Scholar, but I am pretty sure there is nothing about Bunnies delivering Eggs (And for that matter why the fudge are Bunnies delivering eggs?  Shouldn't some species of oviparous (look it up) creature be delivering the eggs.  Hey we could even combine two made up holidays and have the Easter Turkey of Thanksgiving deliver the eggs.  After he is done, we can cook him and eat him, but don't worry his spirit will rise three days later and return the next year for more eggs.)  Easter eggs?  Chocolate Bunnies?  Definitely "Made Up."
     So you see, made up is all a matter of perspective.  I personally think that St. Valentine's Day as it is celebrated today is stupid.  If you need a special day every year to let the people you love know how much you care about them, then you need serious help.  Your loved ones should know every single day that you love and cherish them.  Sending flowers on one day a year only proves you can read a calendar.