The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1884-02-16
ABOUT ST. VALENTINES DAY.
An Interesting Account of the Origin of
the Day that Was Celebrated by the
Boys and Girls on Thursday.
BY Isabel SIN thson.

In one of the principal squares, of
grand old Rome, stands an ancient stone
gate way, known as the Porta del Po-
polo, or Gate of the People.-It is nearly
sixteen hundred years old, and when
first built was named the Porta Valen-
tine, or Valentines Gate, because it led
to the church of st. Nalentine.-This
seems to be a strange beginning for an
account of the pretty festival of lace
paper and spangles, and gay lovers
knots; yet true, that to End out the
meaning of the little rhyme,
son the 18th of February fine.
take you for my Valentine
we must go to that ancient city which
was once the mistress Of nations, the
queen of the pagan world. In those
earlier days the last half of February
was held as religious festival, and the
fifteenth day, which was dedicated to
Juno the queen of Heaven, and Pan the
god of forests and streams, was known
as the Feast of Juno Februata.-One of
the customs was for young men and
maidens to meet, dressed in their best,
when each girls name would be written
down separately, and then all these
names were shaken well together in
box. Next, each young man drew out a
name, and to the girl who CHANGED to
fall to his lot he would give pretty pres
ents and offer himself as partner in the
dancing and feasting which followed.
The reason for fifteenth of February,
was that the birds were supposed to
choose their mates on that day. In
Italy of course warm weather begins
much earlier than with us.-This draw
ing of names was very amusing affair,
and would have been harmless one had
not the merry markings generally ended
in rioting and drinking, as indeed all
pagan festivities were nearly sure to do.
So when Rome began to be Christian
city, the pastors of the church did all
they could to stop the festival, but they
found this very difficult because the
young people were devoted to it, and tho
drawing of names was long continued
even among Christians. There were
some changes made. however. The day
was called St. Valentine and the
names drawn were known as valentines.
The date was also afterwards altered
from the fifteenth to the fourteenth Of
February.
ST. Valentine himself, whose name is
now associated with pleasant surprises
and loving messages, was faithful pas
tor of the 'early Christians" and lived
in Rome during the third century. The
pagan emperor, Claudius H., ordered
that all persons avowing themselves
Christians should be tortured and put to
death, and Valentine went about among
his flock. cheering the frightened ones,
praying with the dying, and burying
the dead For this he was thrown into
prison himself, and refusing to become
an idolator, he was cruelty beaten with
clubs and then beheaded ON February
14th, which CHANGED to be the eve of the
feast of Juno Februata-hence the change
of name and date Of the pagan festival
and this is all the good brave old man
had to do with the custom still bearing
his name.
In the seventeenth century the bishop
of Geneva, Francis of Sales, put a final
stop to the practice Of drawing girls
names on st. Valentines Day, but al
lowed the people instead to write the
names of saints, or holy men and women
on slips of paper and after drawing"
these, try their best to initiate the good
ness and piety of the owners of the
names. Thus the pagan ceremony be-
came a Christian one.
Tho modern practice of sending poetic