History of Valentine’s Day

History of Valentine’s Day

            As early as the fourth B.C., the Romans engage in an annual young man’s rite to passage to the God Lupercus. According to this ancient ritual, names of teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion for the duration of the year, after which another similar ritual was staged. After eight hundred years’ of this cruel practice, the early church fathers sought to end this tradition… They found an answer in Valentine, a bishop who had been martyred some two hundred years earlier.

            According to history of the Roman Catholic Church, Saint Valentine was a priest near Rome circa 270 A.D. At that time the Roman Emperor Claudius –II had issued a command forbidding marriage. This was at a period when the glorious days of the Roman Empire had almost come to an end. Lank of quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Learning declined, taxation increased, and trade slumped to a precarious level. Furthermore, Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asia increased their pressure on the Roman Empire’s boundaries. The empire had also grown too large to be shielded form external aggression and internal chaos. Thus capable men in large numbers were required to be recruited as soldiers and officers. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, would not make good and committed soldiers. So to assure him of loyal and quality soldiers, he issued a dictum banning the institution of marriage.

            Valentine, a bishop, seeing the trauma of young lovers, met them in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of holy matrimony. Claudius learned of this “friend of lovers,” and had him arrested. During the hearing, the emperor, impressed with the young priest’s dignity and strong conviction, attempted to convert him to the Roman gods, to save him from certain execution. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the full consequences of such a daring act. On February 24, 270 A.D. Valentine was executed.

           

            While Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailor, a simple man named Asterius. The jailor had a blind daughter. Through the strength of his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius’ daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her simply said “From Your Valentine”, a phrase that lived ever after.

            As time passed by Valentine became a Patron Saint, and the spiritual overseer of an annual festival. In the beginning, the festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings and other messages of love and affection on February 14. The greeting cards acquired St. Valentine’s name.

            The Valentine’s Day card spread with Christianity and is now celebrated all over the world. Charles, Duke of Orleans, sent one of the earliest cards in 1415 to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. The cards is now preserved in the British Museum.

           

            History does not accurately record how February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. Sending poems and special gifts marked the date. There was often social gathering or a ball. In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given the credit for sending the first valentine card. Commercially, Valentine’s Day cards were introduced in the 1800’s. The town of Loveland, Colorado, does a large post office business around February 14. The spirit of good continues as valentines are sent out with sentimental verses and children exchange valentine cards at school.

            Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine’s Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was

                        Good morning to you, valentine;

                        Curl your locks as I do mine …

                        Two before and three behind.

                        Good morning to you, valentine.

            In Whales, wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on the 14^th of February. Hearts, keys and key-holes were favorites 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 all wear theses 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 may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him.

            There are some who 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 wide 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!

            According to another tradition, one had to think of five or six names of bys or girls one intended to marry. As one twisted the stem of an apple, the stem came off. The person whose name was called last whilethe stem broke, is the person one would marry.

            Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and 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 the number of seeds inside, you will also know how many children you will have.