Valentine's Day History

There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine's Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on e!ruary "#, $%& '.D., the same day that had !een devoted to love lotteries. (egend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the )ailer's daughter, who had !e*ome his friend, and signed it + rom ,our Valentine+. -ther aspe*ts of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of .mperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine )ailed for defying him. /n #&% '.D. 0ope 1elasius set aside e!ruary "# to honour St. Valentine. 1radually, e!ruary "# !e*ame the date for ex*hanging love messages and St. Valentine !e*ame the patron saint of lovers. The date was mar2ed !y sending poems and simple gifts su*h as flowers. There was often a so*ial gathering or a !all. /n the 3nited States, 4iss .sther Howland is given *redit for sending the first valentine *ards. Commer*ial valentines were introdu*ed in the "566's and now the date is very *ommer*ialised. The town of (oveland, Colorado, does a large post offi*e !usiness around e!ruary "#. The spirit of good *ontinues as valentines are sent out with sentimental verses and *hildren ex*hange valentine *ards at s*hool. Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman .mpire. /n an*ient Rome, e!ruary "#th was a holiday to honour 7uno. 7uno was the 8ueen of the Roman 1ods and 1oddesses. The Romans also 2new her as the 1oddess of women and marriage. The following day, e!ruary "9th, !egan the east of (uper*alia. The lives of young !oys and girls were stri*tly separate. However, one of the *ustoms of the young people was name drawing. -n the eve of the festival of (uper*alia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and pla*ed into )ars. .a*h young man would draw a girl's name from the )ar and would then !e partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he *hose. Sometimes the pairing of the *hildren lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry. 3nder the rule of .mperor Claudius // Rome was involved in many !loody and unpopular *ampaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a diffi*ult time getting soldiers to )oin his military leagues. He !elieved that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. 's a result, Claudius *an*elled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius //. He and Saint 4arius aided the Christian martyrs and se*retly married *ouples, and for this 2ind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged !efore the 0refe*t of Rome, who *ondemned him to !e !eaten to death with *lu!s and to have his head *ut off. He suffered martyrdom on the "#th day of e!ruary, a!out the year $:6. 't that time it was the *ustom in Rome, a very an*ient *ustom, indeed, to *ele!rate in the month of e!ruary the (uper*alia, feasts in honour of a heathen god. -n these o**asions, amidst a variety of pagan *eremonies, the names of young women were pla*ed in a !ox, from whi*h they were drawn !y the men as *han*e dire*ted. The pastors of the early Christian Chur*h in Rome endeavoured to do away with the pagan element in these feasts !y su!stituting the names of saints for those of maidens. 'nd as the (uper*alia !egan a!out the middle of e!ruary, the pastors appear to have *hosen Saint Valentine's Day for the *ele!ration of this new feaSt. So it seems that the

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*ustom of young men *hoosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the *oming year, arose in this way. Valentine Traditions Hundreds of years ago in .ngland, many *hildren dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day. They went singing from home to home. -ne verse they sang was; 1ood morning to you, valentine< Curl your lo*2s as / do mine === Two !efore and three !ehind. 1ood morning to you, valentine. /n >ales wooden love spoons were *arved and given as gifts on e!ruary "#th. Hearts, 2eys and 2eyholes were favourite de*orations on the spoons. The de*oration meant, +,ou unlo*2 my heart?+ /n the 4iddle 'ges, young men and women drew names from a !owl to see who their valentines would !e. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one wee2. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to 2now how you are feeling. /n some *ountries, a young woman may re*eive a gift of *lothing from a young man. /f she 2eeps the gift, it means she will marry him. Some people used to !elieve that if a woman saw a ro!in flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. /f she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and !e very happy. /f she saw a goldfin*h, she would marry a millionaire. ' love seat is a wide *hair. /t was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. (ater, the love seat or *ourting seat had two se*tions, often in an S=shape. /n this way, a *ouple *ould sit together == !ut not too *losely? Thin2 of five or six names of !oys or girls you might marry, 's you twist the stem of an apple, re*ite the names until the stem *omes off. ,ou will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off. 0i*2 a dandelion that has gone to seed. Ta2e a deep !reath and !low the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the num!er of *hildren you will have. /f you *ut an apple in half and *ount how many seeds are inside, you will also 2now how many *hildren you will have.