The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-02-14
st. Valentines Day.

Seventeen hundred and eight years ago
to-day Saint Valentine was dubbed TO death
at Rome. By some strange chance his name
has become associated with lovers festival
when bachelors and maids take mock VOWS
upon themselves. 1t is not OF record nor
tradition that the martyr was given to love
making himself or was the cause of wooing
by others; but he has somehow been made
responsible for all the sentiment and the
foolishness of the day, and is a striking ex-
ample of man who died in vain. Some
there be who say that valentine is a corrup-
ton of galantin Ia lover) and that the mar
tyr of Claudius's day was selected for the
sweethearts' saint because of his name.
Others assert that the observance of the day
came down to us from the ancient Romans,
and is a survival of custom of the Luper-
Gala, that of putting the names of the young
women in box from which they were drawn
by the men; and that the early Christians,
finding they could not do. away with the Gus
tom, sought to give it religious aspect by
placing it under the patronage of saint.
Saint Valentine was chosen because his day
came SO near that of the pagan feast. These
explanations are not satisfactory, however,
for st. Valentines Day is scarcely observed
out of Great Britain, and in that land the
Lupercalid could not have been observed or
the word-corruption have readily taken place.
The custom is far more likely to be of Druidi-
cal origin, and to be connected with the
ancient British tradition of the mating of the
birds on the 18th of February. Doubtless
the priests, in accordance with their general
habit, endeavored to give it a religious aspect
by connecting it with the name Of saint.
Whatever the origin of the custom it was
certainly observed in Britain, at an early day,
and was held in honor until late times. The
practice was for the men to give presents to
their valentines and hold entertainments in
their honor. In the days OF Charles Second
the gift-giying must have become burden,
if we may judge by Pepys, who records that
the Duchess of Richmond drew the Duke of
York, afterwards James II, for her valentine
and that he gave her a jewel worth $500
doubtless the Princes ransom. Pepys him
self was more fortunate and happily sue
ceeded in combining thrift with gallantry.
He tells us in his diary: 81 am this year my
wife's valentine, and it will cost me five
pounds; but that L must have laid out If we
had not been Valentines" Again he says:
81 find that Mr.. Pierce's little girl is my val
entine, she having drawn me, which was
not sorry for, it easing ne of something
more than I must have given to Others"
Evidently there was little sentiment in the
day for him, and judging him from his own
standpoint he was the most fortunate man
of his time.
From the first it was a common supersti-
ton that one would wed that unma rried per-
son of the opposite sex whom he or she
should first see on st. Valentines Day. The
superstition long held its ground. No longer
ago than the last century we find young
lady writing: "We wrote our lovers name
upon bits of paper, and rolled them up in
clay and put them into water and the first
that rose up was to be my valentine. Would
you think it? Mr.. Blossom was my man. 1
lay abed and shut my eyes all the morning
till he came to our house, for would not
have seen another man before him for all the
world"
OF late years the sentimental observances
of the day have nearly passed into forgetful-
ness, though some gilt paper is sent through
the mails. The day is regarded by lovers
with indifference. but by letter-carriers with
disgust, and by the small boy with delight. 1t
affords him an opportunity to crafty the
accumulated malice of the year by sending
carcatures OF their persons to the objects OF
his dislike. How the comic valentine origin
ated is as great mystery as the origin of the
day itself. The loaded mails on the 18th. of
February indicates that it is a popular inven-
tion.