The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-02-12
THE LOVERS PATRON SAINT
Why the Name of Roman Father Was
Given to the Springtime Festival.
History, Literature and Poetry of st. Valen-
tines Day-Amatory Verses Four Cent
uries Old Better than Modern Doggerel.
Of the India napoliz Journal

Correspondence Of the India napolis Journal
PITTsBURG, Feb. list Valentines day,
Feb. IA, which falls this year on next
Tuesday, Is one of the ancient festivals.
which, though once held in very high
reputs, has gradually degsnerated into an occA-
sion of little moment snd one very lightly
regarded. Its observances, like many of those
pertaining to Christmas, Easter and other holy
days, may be directly traced to the ancient Ro-
mans. who, centuries before Christ, were accus-
toned TO hold great feasts in honor of Pan and
Juno during February, from which month the
latter deity derived her additional names Of
Februata, Februalis and Februlla These festi-
walls were known as the Lurpercalia, and during
their continuance. among great many other
ceremonies. small tablets bearing the names OF
young women were placed in box and drawn
out by the young men. after the manner OF
lottery. Each person drawing was in honor
bound to be the faithful attendant of her who
had fallen to his lot frcm that time until twelve
months had rolled arouSd, and brought another
Lupercalia and a new drawing. though it not
unfrequently happened that long before that
time the constant association thus engendered
had caused this sham engagement to terminate
in a real one. The principal reason for holding
this matrimonial lottery during the festivities
of the Lupercalia was because they were cele-
brated at a time of year when, it was peculiarly
believed the birdsselected their mates, tradi-
ton that still attaches to st. Valentines day.
This notion is referred to by Shakespeare. in his
.sMidsummer Nights Dreamr-Act Nv. Scene
where he makes Thereus say.
sSaint Valentine is past
Begin these wood-birds but to couple now2'
When Christianity shed its first luminous rays
over the pagan hearts of ancieut Rome, the early
4bns~ \ cvsdo ef c1xcfr
endeavoring to crush out heather superstitions
and in trying to induce the people to abandon
heather festivities They found that the best
means of accomplishing this latter end was to
divest all observances of undue solemnity,
while retaining all their social aspects and as
sociating them either remotely directly with
some person thing pertaining to the church
For the festivities of the Lupercala they substi-
tuted those OF St Valentines day, thereby re-
tanning the date of the ancient festival and at
the same time connecting it with Christianity
through q great saint who suffered martyrdom
in the third century, being first beaten with
clubs and then beheaded while priest at Rome,
where his remains now rest in the church of ST.
Praxedes. and where a gate-now known as he
Porta del Popolo-was formerly called in his
honor, the Porta Valentini
When it is considered th at this excellent man
never either directly or indirectly bore any re-
lation whatever to the observances and cere-
monies peculiar to the day devoted to him. it
seems very strange that his name should have
come to be applied to sweethearts and to the
written. printed and painted amatory addresses
change, as we'll as to the bighly-colored
comical and satirical wood-cuts with
few lines of dogesrsi printed be-
meath them which are literally displayed in
fha AFT
stated that it from the fact that ST. Valen-
tine renowned for his universal love and
charity that the custom of choosing love part
ners upon his day and calling them by his name
took its rise but this idea was long since ex-
ploded. 1t is we'll known that the only
reason why these observances associated
with St Valentine is the one already given
that the early fathers desired to cnrstianize the
heathen festival of the Lupercalia and to have
it fall upon sacred day of approximate date.
The good churchmen found it impossible to
persuade the common people to entirely aban-
don any ceremony to which they had become
deeply attached. Despairing. therefore, of
abolishng the matrimonial lottery of the Lu-
percalia they modified it's form. and endeav-
ored to give 1t religious character by substi-
tuting the names of particular saints to os
drawn as valentines instead of the names OF
men and women. From this ancient usage is
derived the CUSTOM still occasionally observed in
some Catholic countries, of selecting. on ST. Val
entine's day for the ensuing year, q patron saint
VINO is called O valentine. But the
young men and maidens finding little amuse
ment in drawing out tie names of dead-and-
gone saints, soon reapsed into their old custom
of drawing each other, and even at the present
time. in many of the rural districts Of England
and Scotland, it is customary. on the eve OF 81.
Valentines day, for the young people of both
sexes to draw lots for q valentine. As the men
draw from bag containing the of the
maids. while the latter draw from one contain
ing the names OF the men, IL generally happens
that each person has two valentines, but the
young men regard themselves much more
strongly bound to the valentine they have
drawn than to the one who has drawn them.
If. as sometimes happens. young man and
woman should each chance to draw the other it
is regarded as absolutely certain that they are
destined to wed and must not. under any cir
cumstanee permit their attention or affection to
center elsewhere
During the reign of Charles II, as learn
from that most enterprisinc and curious record
of the domestic life of that period preserved for
us in the diary of Mr. Pepys. married people
were equally eligible with single for the
lottery of St Valentines eve aud any one cho-
sen as q valentine was in honor bound to give,
present to the person choosing him or her. On
Sr Valentines day, 1867, Mr.. Pepys writes:
This morning came up to my Wifes i, bedside Il
to be her valentine, and brought her name
written upon blue paper in gold letters. done by
himself. very pretty, and We were both we'll
wifes valentine, and it will cost me f5; but that
/ must have laid out if we had not been valen-
,ines." On Feb l6 of the same year-two days
later-he again writes, II find that Mrs. Pierce's
little girl is my valentine, abe having drawn
me; which was not sorry for, it easing me OF
something more that must have given to 9TH
ers But here do first observe the fashion OF
drawing notices well names, that
Pierce, who drew my wife, did draw also
motto, and this girl drew another
fer me. What mine was forget. but my wife's
was most courteous and most fair, which, as it
may be used anagram upon each name,
might be pretty" Again, alluding to the ohli-
CATION resting upon chosen valentine 10 give a
present to the person choosing, he writes of the
celebrated Miss Stuart, afterward the Duchess
of Richmond. 'sthe Duke of York, being once
her valentine. did give her jewel of about
f800; and my Lord Vaudeville, her valentine
this year, q ring of about f300.r In February.
1868, he makes the following entry: This
evening my wifs did, with great pleasure show
me her stock of jewels, increased by the ring
she hath made lately, as my valentines gift
this year, q turkey-stone set with diamonds
With this. and what she had, she reokoned that
she hath above one hundred and 6sty pounds
worth OF Jewels of one kind or other. and am