One story of the origins of
Valentine’s Day comes from the time of the Roman Empire, under the rule of
Emperor Claudius the Second. Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular
military campaigns. Claudius the Cruel, as he was known at the time, was having
a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed
that roman men did not want to leave their lovers or families. As a result, he
cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome.
During this time a Christian
priest named Valentine came to defend love in the empire. Valentine began to
secretly marry couples despite the emperors orders. When Emperor Claudius
was informed of these ceremonies, Valentine
was sent to prison where he remained until his death on February 14 in the year
270.
The festival is like Christmas a
combination of both pagan ritual and a Christian tradition. Another, more
gruesome, story of its origins is that St. Valentine helped Christians flee the
city of Rome during the persecutions, he was tortured to make him renounce his
faith and clubbed to death, then beheaded (which seems a bit of overkill) on
February 14 AD 273.
It is also linked to the pagan
festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on February 15 by young Romans
centuries before Christ. The celebration was held in honour of the goddess
Februata Juno, and concerned all young people of marriageable age. The names or
tokens representing all the young girls in the district were placed in a love
um and the young lads each drew a token and the couples paired off. This was a
kind of mating lottery game. During the Roman occupation of Britain, the idea
was brought to this country and adopted by the ancient Britons. When people
were converted to Christianity the pagan and Christian festivals were merged;
the festival of Lupercalia was put back a day and celebrated on St. Valentine’s
day, February 14. The old pagan customs still continued and in Britain up to
the beginning of the present century it was customary for local lads and lasses
to draw lots for partners. In Lancashire, on St. Valentine’s eve, the names of
eligible young people were written on separate slips of paper and divided into
two groups, male and female. The boys drew a slip from the girls’ pile and vice
versa. Thus each person received two sweethearts and then had been made the
boys treated their maidens to all sorts of outings and surprises including
dances and gifts.
Cards and gifts
In Saxon England and after, on
St. Valentine’s day it was customary for a boy to give the girl of his choice a
love token, usually a pair of gloves. The glove was a sign of authority in
olden times. In Norwich, years ago, it was the general custom to give presents
on St. Valentine’s eve and packages containing all kinds of gifts were laid on
doorsteps all over the city. They were anonymous and usually just bore the
message “a Good-morrow to you Valentine”. It was normal practice to ring or
knock on the door after depositing the package and then disappear. Some parcels
contained valuable presents while others were given as a kind of joke, being
wrapped in many layers of paper punctuated at intervals by little notes of
encouragement such as “Never despair”.
It was not until the 15thC
that the first greeting card was produced because, until that time, parchment
was scarce and the majority of people were illiterate. The forerunner of the
paper Valentine was first seen in the 17thC and the first printed
Valentine may have been the title page of a book of verses published in 1669
entitled A Valentine Writer. With the introduction of the penny postage and the
use of envelopes in 1840 the popularity of the Valentine card increased. The
Valentine card took on a much more delicate form in Victorian times. It was
often mad out of lace paper, velvet and satin ribbons, embossed with the best
quality material. These cards often had trick or secret panels in them, hiding
secret messages to the girls concerned. Messages were also often hidden under
folds of lace or ribbons. This was because Victorian fathers were very strict
and would not allow their daughters to receive any sort of correspondence
unless they had first read it and decided whether or not it was suitable. Later
the traditional card printed its love messages in the form of a verse similar
to those repeated by people centuries before.
In 1872 the Post Office declared
that parcels not exceeding 12 ounces in weight could be sent by letter post.
This news meant that in Norwich alone two days before St. Valentine’s eve
150,000 letters containing small gifts were sent through the post. From that
time, the custom of leaving presents on doorsteps decreased in importance.
However, giving Valentine presents in Norwich continued through the purchase of
gits for the office, domestic and personal use. Local papers advertised wall
placards advertised and the town criers, too, advertised by ringing bells and
shouting the advantages of buying gifts at certain local stores. The presents
sent in a secret manner included oranges, work boxes, squeaking dolls, silver
pencils and holders, books and various trinkets. In other parts of Britain,
presents were also distributed: in Peterborough, sweet plum buns called
Valentine Buns were made and eaten< in Uppingham, gingerbread was given to
lovers; in Rutland, buns shaped like a weaver’s shuttle and called a Plum
Shuttles’ were made and are still being made for children on this day. Weaving
and lace-making were cottage industries in that area. The aristocracy, in the
17thC, often drew names for Valentines and the pairing lasted until
the next Valentine day. Gifts were expected by the ladies and often expensive
gifts such as silk stockings, garters, jewellery and perfume were given.
The censorship of strict
Victorian fathers and the element of mystery and surprise experienced by those
who in former times played the lottery pairing game has undoubtedly contributed
to the reason why Valentine cards are, by tradition, anonymous. The custom of
sending Valentine cards almost came to an end in the early part of the present
century. However, in the thirties it was revived and has now been highly
commercialised. The early hand engraved and painted Valentine cards are
collector’s items and are often displayed in libraries and museums during the
season of Valentine’s Day.
Gifts have always been a
traditional aspect of the lovers’ holiday. As a tradition in Wales, wooden love
spoons are carved and given as gifts. Hearts, keys and keyholes are favourite decorations
on the spoons, meaning “You unlock my heart”.
Today Valentine’s cards are sent
anonymously by a secret admirer, a common practice is to put a personal message
in the local or national newspapers.
Flowers are the most common gift
given, a dozen red roses or (more romantically and cheaper) just one red rose.
Allegedly it was Charles II of Sweden, in the 18th century, who
introduced the idea of flowers symbolizing emotions, and the red rose was
singled out for love. The number of roses has significance too:
1 rose = love
12 (a dozen) = gratitude
25 = congrulations
50 = unconditional love
Today, red roses stand for
passionate love, pink roses for friendship, white for purity, and both red and
white mean unity, or if you are a certain nurse in Shropshire “blood and
bandages”. Oh and make sure your red rose is a nice bright red, dark red roses
are a symbol of death.
It is just as common for a woman
to send a man a message of undying love, especially during a leap year, and on
Valentine’s Day in a leap year it is the custom for women to ask their
boyfriend or partner to marry them! So watch out!
Supertitions
Several Valentine’s Day superstitions
have even made their way into our modern-day vocabularies. For example, in the
Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their
valentines would be. The would wear these names on their sleeves for one week,
and “to wear your heart on your sleeve” now means that it is easy for other
people to know how you are feeling.
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