The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-02-13
ST. VALENTINES DAY.


apart as sacred to Love. 1t Ia Cupds carnival. and
though we write It with the name OF holy bishop
aud martyr It stu preserves, through every
change. q tinge OF Its pagan origin. WIZ the name
OF st. Valentine has been associated with
love festival Is unknown. and no ex-
tant history furnishes any cew BY which
the mystery might be satisfactorily solved.
Little Is known about st. Valentine save
that some time In the third century OF the Chris
tian era he was beaten with sticks and then had
his head cut OF; but whether love had anything to
do with his killing there remains no evidence to
show. The association OF st. Valentine with the
iovesck is as unaccountable as love ITSELF It In
strongly suspected, however, that the good man
had nothing whatever to do with the ceremonies
OF the day, which are supposed to have sprung
from feelings and desires old as the world. Some
OF the learned who dive into old books IN
search Of the origin of things throw
st. Valentine overheard as an interoper. and
assure us that Valentine Day In but the continue
ton OF the Lupercalia festivals established In
pagan Rome in honor OF the god Pan. They
began on the 18th OF February. According to
Plutarch they were instituted by the Romans In
honor Of the she wolf that sucked Romuius ana
Remua But the opinion OF even this respectable
authority is questioned and both Ltvy and
Dionysius OF Haicarnassus attribute tho In
der, and seek to connect them with the Lyc9a1
festivals observed in Arcadia, Whether ST. vaien-
tines Day can justly lay claim to so remote an
origin or not 1t seems certain that the ceremonies
connected with 1t are much older than the saint
with whose name they have become interviewer.
The modern festival probably grew out OF some
deeply rooted pagan rite, just as we owe
the bonnres on st. Johns Eve lighted
by the Christian peasantry to the, nres
lighted In remote age by the worshlppers Of
BaaL The early Christians found 1t necessary In
order to eradicate paganism to adopt many OF the
principal pagan feasts. and convert them into fes-
rivals in honor of saints, and it is probable that
this course was pursued with the Lupercalia Is
strengthened by coincidence In the ceremonies
observed in the pagan festival as well as the oc-
currence OF st. Valentines Day on the eve OF the
Lupercalia. During the feasts In honor OF Pan and
Juno the names OF number OF young women
were put into box and drawn by men as chance
directed, and this custom, which was always an
important part OF the proper celebration OF st.
Valentines Day, seems to be the first record wo
possess OF the origin OF choosing valentines. In
time the practice Of choosing mates became recip-
rocal, and all persons so drawn or chosen were
called valentine
SO late as the early part OF last century 1t was
customary for al equal number OF bachelors
written real or feigned name on piece OF paper.
rolled 1t up and placed it in a box, whence 1t was
drawn by lot The girls drew mems Dlllets and
the men the girls, so that each one had two
valentines. The bachelors were supposed to
pay many more attentions to the ladies
who fell to them by lot than to those
who had drawn them. Fortune thus divided the
company into couples The valentines were ex-
pected to give balls and treats to their mstresses,
whose biets they were accustomed to wear for
several days on their bosom or sleeve. This was.
however, the hghtest part OF the duty Of the val
entine, for, by custom, the bachelor remained
bound for whole year in the service Of his vaien-
tine somewhat after the fashion OF o medieval
knight 1t, of course, often happened that these
imaginary engagements became real. Sometimes
1t occurred that tie couples were not Sc
lected by fortune just as they could have
wished, but this circumstance rather increased
than diminished the amusement About the
fifteenth century the celebration OF Valentines
Day was very general among the upper classes
and in the royal courts in Great Britain and in
many parts OF the European Continent, especially
In Lorraine and Main IN France. During the
reign OF CHARLES II. OF England more Importance
was attached to the celebration OF Valentines Day
than at any other period IN England. The festival
suited the manners Of the merry monarch and
for expansion. Married people became liable to be
CHOSEN as valentines, and the habit Of giving
costly presents as q release or ransom was also
introduced. Pepys, in his chatty diary, tells rs
that the Duke OF York on one occasion, being
valentine to Miss Stewart, afterwards the
Duchess of Richmond, gave her jewel worth
1000 to obtain release from the obligation oil
being her valentine. Lord Vaudeville presented
the same fortunate young lady with ring worth
$l,5o0, under similar circumstances. The custom
OF making valuable presents seems to have died out
with the Merrie Monarch. Notwithstanding the
custom Of releasing IT was believed that those who
fell to each other IN st. Valentines lottery were
likely TO become associated in wedlock.
Valentines Day in Great Britain IL no longer cele
brated with the old ecla and has almost ceased to
possess the symbolic meaning which in pas:
times gave the day its greatest charm. 1t
is now almost wholly abandoned to practical
joKes and low bufYoOnery. Its approach Is her
aided, as among ourselves, by the appearance In
shop windows Of numberless mlssives, mostly vul
gar carcatures which are sent through the post
by people OF bad taste under the impression that
they are playing or delicate jokes In the not dis
tant past letter writing on Valentines Day was al
most unknown, or confined to the exchange OF
courteous notes, breathing affection and devotion.
The caricature valentine is wholly an outgrowtb
OF low modern ideas OF burlesque The more re-
fined manners OF the older generations did not
permit indulgence In the coarse bunOOnery OF
stupid caricature. Their fault was an exaggera-
tiol Of sentiment bordering on the ridiculous.
II is among the people that the poetry Of the
days observance has been best preserved. While
the book worms have hunted in vain among dusty
and moth eaten archives for the origin Of loves
Day the people, with truer instinct, have interro-
gated nature with better success As the nations
OF antiquity lived more in communion with
nature than We do many OF their social
and religious customs are directly trace
able to the influence Of some natural
law, or some supposed law, which they evolved
from their rich poetic imagnations. February
sees the winter depart, and the dawn OF spring
brings JOY to all animated creatures. The little
birds once more make vocal the trees about the
neasant,s hut and the simple dMeler in the delda