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The
Honey Side of Valentine
By Tunde
Fabunmi
Universally,
honey connotes love, which is the basis of Valentine celebration.
In other words, honey and valentine are inseparable and love is
the connecting bridge. Honey is love and love is honey. Little wonder
lovers call themselves honey. The period lovers savour soon after
tying the nuptial knot is also called honeymoon. In a way, honeymoon
consolidates love. Even by the nature of its origin, honey is a
product of parts of the plants (flowers), which are wholly pervaded
by love. The bees, which process flower nectar into honey, also
live in an atmosphere completely pervaded by love. In fact, unity
and love ever radiate in the beehives and this is why Napoleon Bonaparte
made bee a symbol of his reign in France. The bees sometimes numbering
about 60,000 not only live in love with one another, they literally
eat love (honey) for sustenance.
Without doubt,
nothing can be more apt as a symbol of love on Valentine Day than
honey. Perhaps for a change, you can use honey to express love to
your Vals on the occasion of lovers’ day. Honey is one product with
a lot of positive aura behind it. The Holy Bible affirms honey as
a precious gift in the books of Genesis 43, verse 11 and II King
14:3. Honey is also strongly linked to the birth, ministry and resurrection
of Jesus Christ. You can take a cue from King Solomon who used the
attribute of honey to extol the beauty of his spouse in what Bible
recorded as Song of Solomon Chapter 4, verse 11. It reads thus:
Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are
under thy tongue… Of course, a land flowing with milk and honey
is a blessed land by God’s reckoning and you can wish your Vals
this with a far of honey as vessel of love. Similarly, the Holy
Quran describes honey as a special gift from Allah for the care
and sustenance of man as recorded in Chapter16, verse 51-83. As
a matter of fact, honey is literally a tonic for Islamic faith as
Prophet Mohammed (SAW) admonished Muslims to use it as food and
cure for all ills. Besides Christianity and Islam, honey is also
adored as a treasure and special product in other religions. Even
outside the realm of religion, the use of honey as a special gift
for very important personalities VIPs including your Vals is an
entrenched culture in Israel, the Arab world and some other parts
of the world. For instance, at departure, a Jew will give honey
to a highly esteemed visitor. I believe your val should enjoy such
status too.
No other gift
is more valued than honey by the Arabs. No doubt, honey will be
relished and cherished by your Vals given its sweet savour, nutritional
and medicinal benefits. Besides, honey is also natural cosmetics
of great value useful for skin care and hair treatment. Invariably,
a gift of honey can enhance the beauty of your loved ones particularly
the feminine gender. Throughout the centuries, legendary beauties
used honey as part of their skin and hair care treatments. Cleopatra
was famous for her milk and honey baths and Poppea, wife of Roman
Emperor; Nero also used a honey and milk lotion on her face to keep
her looking youthful. Our own Bukky Wright of the Home Video fame
is towing the line of Cleopatra and Popea. Like Cleopatra, Poppea
and Bukky Wright,your Vals also deserve youthful looks, supple skin,
and luxuriant and glowing hair that honey bestows on users. Unlike
many other products, which can be someone’s “meat” and “poison”
for others, honey is nobody’s poison.
Neither age,
gender nor religion and race preclude the use of honey. Honey enjoys
universal reverence like water and this is why everybody craves
for this healthful product of nature. Moreover, the Igbo believe
he who brings kolanut, brings life, but he who brings honey, brings
“life insurance” because it is a natural elixir and “a giver of
immortality”. So, if you have cause to send gift to revered personalities
like your Vals, a highly revered product like honey fits the bill.
Honey can be presented in different versions – liquid sweet to be
savoured in spoonfuls or foods with honey added like cakes, ice
cream, wine etc. And should there be need to spice your Valentine
Day with conjugal love, honey also comes handy as “natural viagra”.
As a natural love portion, honey is one product with inherent powers
to boost endurance needed to blissfully tickle your Vals to “cloud
seven”. In Bulgaria, for instance, beekeepers are marketing honey
as a natural and cheaper alternative to viagra. At the just concluded
annual Bulgarian Beekeepers Fair in Sofia; thistle honey was marketed
as solution for Bulgarians hoping to sweeten up their love lives.
Surely, honey will give practical meaning to the celebration of
love, which valentine signifies worldwide. It is a first choice
love portion, cosmetics, diet, medicine and gift with positive spiritual
connotation.
More importantly,
honey and love share the same virtues. Both heal, beautify, enrich
the soul, unite people and have nothing to do with bitterness. I
wish you all a honeyed Valentine. Tunde Fabunmi is a honey expert
and the Executive Director, Bee Conservation Project
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