Valentine’s Day

when every man and every woman thinks about his or

her sweetheart.

numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine.

ancient Roman Empire. It is said that in the Rome

of ancient times people observed a holiday on February 14th to honor Juno - the Queen of Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also regarded Juno as the Goddess of Women and Marriage.

that are handed down from the past. One of the

costumes the young people liked was name-drawing. The names of the Roman girls were written on slips of paper and put into a jar. Each young man drew a slip. The girl whose name he drew was to be his sweetheart for a year.

window for half an hour before sunrise. If no one

went by, she believed she would not be marred that year. If she saw a men pass, she thought she would marry him or someone who looked like him.

young men. She put the onions in a corner near

the fireplace. She thought she would marry the man whose onion sprouted first.

names on scraps of paper, rolled each in a ball

of clay, and dropped them into water. The first paper that surface supposedly had the name of the woman’s true love.

”The Valentine”. She had grand valentine parties in the early

1600’s. There were dancing and name drawing/ the princess did not draw a name. She chose her own partner, but she made her guests draw names. Each knight gave flowers to the lady whose name he drew. He gave her flowers at each dance they attended that year.

law courts for the rituals of courtly love, a "High

Court of Love" was established in Paris on Valentine's Day in 1400. The court dealt with love contracts, betrayals, and violence against women. Judges were selected by women on the basis of a poetry reading.

in Interamna in Italy in the Third Century. People adored

Bishop Valentine and the fame of his holiness and miracles reached Rome. Valentine's was also linked with love because he is believed to be the first religious personage to oversee the celebration of marriage between a pagan man and a Christian woman. This Saint Valentine is believed to have been scourged, imprisoned and beheaded by Placidus, Prefect of Interanma.

mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines."

Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid.

Valentines

of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after

1847 by Esther Howland (1828-1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts.

The English practice of sending Valentine's cards appears in Elizabeth Gaskell's Mr. Harrison's Confessions (published 1851).

circa 1850: "Weddings now are all the go, Will you

marry me or no"

Handwritten poem, "To Susanna" dated Valentine's Day, 1850 (Cork, Ireland)

Comic Valentine, mid-19th century: "R stands for rod, which can give a smart crack, And ought to be used For a day on your back."

"Pop-ups" create a three-dimensional effect when opened, circa 1900
A

tiny 2-inch pop-up Valentine, circa 1920

questionable taste, 1940-1950
Anthropomorphic Valentine, circa 1950-1960

one billion valentines cards are sent each year worldwide, making

the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

betime, And I a maid at your window, To be your Valentine. Then

up he rose, and donn'd his clothes, And dupp'd the chamber-door; Let in the maid, that out a maid Never departed more.

(William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5)