These items of
interest are explored completely on the rest
of this Valentine Site
St. Valentine's Day...
"When a young man's fancy turns to love, it
must be St. Valentine's Day."
But who is St. Valentine?
The answer may lie with the Ancient Romans.
History tells us one of their most prominent
pagan festivals was Lupercalia, celebrated
on February 15. In 43 AD, the Romans invaded
England and wasted no time introducing
Lupercalia to the locals. Many years later,
the British church erased the festival and
linked it with St. Valentine, a cleric
murdered on February 14 for marrying
soldiers against the Emperor's will.
Although many customs are associated with
Valentine's Day, none remains more popular
than the exchange of Valentine Day cards
between lovers of all ages.
Valentine Facts & Superstitions
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.
Many people give candy to their sweethearts
on Valentine's Day. Candy is sweet and so
are sweethearts. In North America and
Europe, chocolates are sold in fancy boxes
shaped like hearts. Some boxes have flowers
and ribbons on them.
In some countries, a young woman may receive
a gift of clothing from a young man. If she
keeps the gift, it means she will marry him.
Some people used to believe 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 widow dress.
Later, the love seat or courting seat had
two sections, often in an S-shape. In this
way, a couple could sit together -- but not
too closely!
Think of five or six names of boys or girls
you might marry, As you twist the stem of an
apple, recite the names until the stem comes
off. You will marry the person whose name
you were saying when the stem fell off.
Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take
a deep breath and blow the seeds into the
wind. Count the seeds that remain on the
stem. That is the number of children you
will have.
If you cut an apple in half and count how
many seeds are inside, you will also know
how many children you will have.
The History of Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day started in the time of the
Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th
was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the
Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The
Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women
and marriage. The following day, February
15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.
The lives of young boys and girls were
strictly separate. However, one of the
customs of the young people was name
drawing. On the eve of the festival of
Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were
written on slips of paper and placed into
jars. Each young man would draw a girl's
name from the jar and would then be partners
for the duration of the festival with the
girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of
the children lasted an entire year, and
often, they would fall in love and would
later marry.
Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome
was involved in many bloody and unpopular
campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a
difficult time getting soldiers to join his
military leagues. He believed that the
reason was that roman men did not want to
leave their loves or families. As a result,
Claudius cancelled all marriages and
engagements in Rome. THE good Saint
Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days
of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided
the Christian martyrs and secretly married
couples, and for this kind deed Saint
Valentine was apprehended and dragged before
the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be
beaten to death with clubs and to have his
head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the
14th day of February, about the year 270. At
that time it was the custom in Rome, a very
ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the
month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in
honor of a heathen god. On these occasions,
amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the
names of young women were placed in a box,
from which they were drawn by the men as
chance directed.
The pastors of the early Christian Church in
Rome endeavored to do away with the pagan
element in these feasts by substituting the
names of saints for those of maidens. And as
the Lupercalia began about the middle of
February, the pastors appear to have chosen
Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of
this new feast. So it seems that the custom
of young men choosing maidens for
valentines, or saints as patrons for the
coming year, arose in this way.
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, a holiday honoring
lovers, is celebrated February 14. Sending
greeting cards or gifts to express affection
is the traditional method of celebrating the
holiday. The cards, or "valentines", are
usually decorated with hearts to symbolize
love and carry messages of caring and
endearment.
The origins of Valentine's Day are not well
documented. It probably derives from the
ancient Roman feast of Lupercalis (February
15). The holiday gradually became associated
with the feast day (February 14) of two
Roman martyrs, both named St. Valentine, who
lived in the 3rd century.
One was a Roman Christian who according to
tradition was martyred during the
persecution of Christians by Emperor
Claudius II on February 14, 270. The other
martyr named Valentine, was bishop of Terni,
a region in present-day central Italy, they
have both been suggested as the inspiration
for our modern feast of Saint Valentine's
Day. St. Valentine has traditionally been
regarded as the patron saint of lovers.
Geoffrey Chaucer should perhaps receive
honor as the real Saint Valentine. Although
reference books abound with mention of Roman
festivals from which Valentine's Day?the day
for lovers?may be derived, Jack B. Oruch has
shown that no evidence exists to support
these connections and that Chaucer is most
likely the first to link the saint's day
with the custom of choosing sweethearts.
No link between the day and lovers exists
before the time of Chaucer and several
literary contemporaries who also mention it,
but after them the link becomes widespread,
a circumstance that makes it seem likely
that Chaucer, invented the tradition. The
fullest and perhaps earliest description of
the tradition occurs in Chaucer's Parlement
of Foules, composed around 1380, which takes
place "on Seynt Valentynes day,/Whan every
foul cometh there to chese [choose] his make
[mate]."
Overall, the custom of choosing valentines
on this day is of considerable antiquity,
and it was an old belief that birds began to
mate on this day as Chaucer says above. On
the eve of Saint Valentine's day, young
people of both sexes used to meet, and each
of them drew one by lot from a number of
names of the opposite sex, which were put
into a common receptacle. Each gentleman
thus got a lady for his valentine, and
became the valentine of a lady.
The History of Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day is a time for friends, a
time for family, and a time for lovers, but
where did it all begin. The following, is
just one of many historical descriptions of
Valentine's Day. We hope you enjoy it.
In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday
to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the
Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also
knew her as the Goddess of women and
marriage. The following day, February 15th,
began the 'Feast of Lupercalia', which was a
time to honor several other Gods and
Goddesses.
In ancient Rome, the lives of young boys and
young girls were strictly separate. However,
during the Lupercalia Festival, the boys
would each pick a girl's name from a vase.
The boys then became partners for the
duration of the festival with the girl that
they chose. During the festival, the pairs
of children danced and played together.
Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted
an entire year, and often, they would fall
in love and would later marry.
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