valentine's day

Valentine's Day is a special day to honor love. Eight hundred years ago, the Romans practiced an ancient custom, to celebrate in the month of February, the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of a heathen god Juno, the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The celebration featured a lottery in which young men would draw the names of girls from a box. The girl assigned to each young man in that manner would be his companion during the remaining year.

In an effort to do away with the pagan festival, Pope Gelasius ordered a slight change in the lottery. Instead of the names of young women, the box would contain the names of saints. Both men and women were allowed to draw from the box, and the game was to emulate the ways of the saint they drew during the rest of the year.

The Church looked for a suitable patron saint of love to take the place of the pagan god. They found an appropriate choice in Valentine, who, in 269 AD had been beheaded by Emperor Claudius. Claudius had determined that married men made poor soldiers. So he banned marriage from his empire. But Valentine would secretly marry young men that came to him. When Claudius found out, he was angry and tried to convert Valentine to paganism. When he failed, he had Valentine stoned and beheaded.

During the days that Valentine was imprisoned, he fell in love with the blind daughter of the jailer. His love for her, and his great faith, managed to miraculously heal her from her blindness before his death. Before he was taken to his death, on the 14th day of February, 269 A.D., he signed a farewell message to her, "From your Valentine." The phrase has been used on his day ever since.

The pagan festival died out and gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers and candy. There was often a social gathering or a ball.

Sending of Valentine day cards grew out of this practice. The first true Valentine card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time.
In the United States, Miss Esther Howland sent out the first valentines. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800's and now the date is very commercialised.

Valentine Symbols & Traditions

Years ago in England, children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day and went singing from home to home.

In Wales, wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favorite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart !"

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To ~wear your heart on your sleeve~ now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.

In some countries, a young woman would receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she kept the gift, it meant that she would marry him.
Some people believed that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.

A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections. In this way, a couple could sit together and it became associated with Valentine's day.

Love letters on Valentine's Day and throughout the year are often signed with a string of "X"s to represent kisses. The practice of using an "X" for a kiss grew out of the Medieval practice of letting those who could not write mark documents with an "X" to represent their name. This was done in the presence of witnesses and a kiss was given upon the "X" to show sincerity. The "X" then became synonymous with the kiss in the minds of people.

Cupid is the most famous of Valentine symbols. He is known as a mischievous, winged child armed with bow and arrows. He shoots darts of desire into the bosoms of both gods and men causing them to fall deeply in love. In ancient Greece, he was known as Eros the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. To the Romans he was Cupid, and his mother was Venus.

Emotions are feelings such as love, happiness, anger, or fear. A long time ago, people believed that all the emotions were found in the heart. In later years, they thought only the emotion of love was connected with the heart. The heart is still a symbol of love, and because of this, it is also a symbol of Valentine's Day.
The rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Red is a color that stands for strong feelings. This is why the red rose is a flower of love.

Lace is a pretty fabric made by weaving together fine threads. Hundreds of years ago, women carried lace handkerchiefs. If a woman dropped her handkerchief, a man nearby might pick it up and return it to her. Sometimes a woman might see a man she wanted to meet and she would drop her lace handkerchief on purpose to encourage romance. Soon people thought of romance when they thought of lace. They began using paper lace to decorate chocolate boxes and Valentine cards.
Years ago, when a man proposed marriage to a woman, he "asked for her hand." The hand became a symbol of marriage and love. Soon gloves also became a symbol of love.

In some countries, men and women exchange rings when they become engaged or marry. Two or three hundred years ago, Valentine's Day was a popular day for giving an engagement ring.

A love knot is a series of winding and interlacing loops with no beginning and no end. It is a symbol of endless love. People made love knots from ribbon or drew them on paper. Often, a message was written on the love knot. The message had no beginning or end. It could be repeated endlessly.

Lovebirds are colorful parrots found in Africa. Most have red bills. They are called lovebirds because they sit closely together in pairs.
Doves were thought to be favorite birds of Venus. They remain with the same mates all their lives. The males and females both care for their babies. Because these birds are symbols of loyalty and love, they are also symbols of Valentine's Day.

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