The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1868-02-06
ST. VALENTINES DAY.

ST. VALENTINES DAY.
Tomorrow week will be til,
18th of Fcbruary--a day set apart t.
st, Valentine, the patron Saint Of sai'
day. In anticipation Of said day
Mcssrs. Hines d Word, at the Winchcs
ter Book Store, have laid in a supply o
valentines, of Il comic and sentimental
nature. Bat we do no. intend merely
to write 4 puff for them. We want t(
say something Of the tradition OF thi,
day. According to these traditions st
Valentine fourishcd in the Sd century
and suffered martyrdOm, A. ID. 270. A
portion Of his remains are said to bt
preserved in Rome, in the church o.
st. Proxedes,
The modern customs especially char
actcristic Of this day have no specia,
connection with the life or death Of the
martyr; their origin, however, is an.
cient and involved in y good deal OF
%obscurity. II is thought BY some wri
tiers, and apparently with sufficient rea-
son'that they arc the continuation OF
the Roman ceremonies celebrated in
the month of February, under the title
of Lupercolia. One of the obscryances
Of this festival was that Of placing the
names of young women in a box from
which their bcaux drew them in lots.
The early christian pastors sought to
obyiate this custom by placing the
names Of Saints to be drawn for-but
this naturally was not so popular, and
soon fell into disusc.
In England, in the time of Charles
the Second, it appears that it was usual
to place the names Of married as wei
single ladies in the box or wheel. i
was common in those days to make the
person drawing y Valentine a prcscn,
to relieve the donors from the obliga.
tons under which they we're thus placed
Miss Stuart, u celebrated belle, IN thi:
manner, reticred Lord Vaudeville of .
ring valued at $500, and the Duke O
York Of Il jewel worth .ES00. We dc
not suppose any n OF the bachelors
or widowcrs in Winchester coult
stand such gifts as these, but canno,
we get upa Valentines party, in which
the ladics--bless their souls-cal
make the men forfeit something in licr
of their stubborn, no account hearts
This is Leap Year, you know, and there
arc many, very many, sweet and beau.
tiful ladies in the good town of Win,
chester, Preparatory to such q party
we would quote the quaint description
Of an old writer, who says of these Gus.
toms: "On the eve of st. Valentines
Day an equal number Of maids and
bachelors get together they write their
true or feigned names upon seperate
billets, which they roll up and draw by
way oflots, the maids taking til, men's
billets, and the men the maids, so that
each of the young men lights upon a
girl that he calls his valentine, and
each of the young girls upon a young
man whom she calls hers--ourself, for
instance. BY this means each has too
Valentines, but the man sticks faster to
tho Valentine which has fallen to him
than the Valentine TO whom he is fall
eli. Fortune having thus divided the
company into SO many couples, the
Valentine gives balls and treats to their
nistresscs, wear the billets several days
upon their bosoms or sleeves, and this
sport often ends in love.
In these times the superstitious be-.
|icve that on this day the birds are nc.
customcd to select their mates, and that
owing to the strange influences that
pervade the air, it is maintained that 81
young person walking abroad would
irst encounter the one destined to be
sis companion for Life.
Shakespeare and Chaucer alluds to
he festival, as also Lydgatc, who -four
she'd about 1880. I
An ancient custom was to procure
I've bay leaves on the eve ofSt. yalen
ines Day, and pin them to the pillow,
nd the person dreamed Of thht night
'ss to be the sharer of life's tolls and
lcasurcs. But il our bachelors and
don't wish to follow old Gus.
pms. our advice is to meet on yalcn
mes Eve aud make love, and II your
chool Teachers or your boarding
ouss guardians object, ask them VI
~ dldp't make lore ones 10 ,theivI:
NSr ~ lboleA onf.ofII