Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1895-02-15
ST. VALENTINES ~,

Thousands and hundreds Of thcu
sands of valentines" pass through the
| postoffice on st. Valentines day.
They are of all sorts--comic, vulgar,
witty, sentimental and loving.
st. Valentine is called the saint of
lovers, but the original st. Valentine
seems not to have had any such ann
bition. He was a Roman priest, who
suffered martyrdom, being beaten
with clubs and then beheaded in the
year 27O A. d. The Fourteenth Of
February was appointed by the church
| to be observed in his honor But dur
ing the month of February, in ancient
Roman days, festivals were held in
honor of Februata-Juno. These feasts
were called Lupercalia, One of the
celebrations consists of writing the
names OF many young women upon
slips, and these names were deposited
with much ceremony in box, from
which they were drawn by the young
men as chance directed.
The priests of the early Christian
church sought by every means to abol-
ish all the old pagan festivals and sub
stitute Christian ones. And the low
ers' festival of February was one
which is said to have been altered un-
der their direction. It was placed un-
der the guardianship of st. Val
entine merely because his church
day came at the same date
as that of the old pagan festi-
val Of Lupercalia. This is tho
explanation accepted by most learned
writer's on the subject. The mates
chosen were called valentines simply
on account of the day of choosing.
And it is likely that the pretty pre-
tense of secrecy observed in the send
ing of valentines can be also traced to
this old custom of hiding the written
names and having them drawn ont by
chance. The fun and romance Of
valentines all depend on these con-
ditions.
The Valentine day celebrations
have been kept in England and Scot
land for many years. Shakespeare
and Chaucer both allude to them. also
the poet Lydgate, who died in 1910.
A learned traveller named Nilsson, who
wrote in the seventeenth century, de-
scribes the old English valentine
party.
''on the eve.of Feb. IA the young
folks gather together, an equal num-
ber of maids and bachelors forming
the party Each one writes his or her
name On separate billet and these
are rolled up and cast into pile.
Then the names are drawn, the maids
drawing the bachelors names and the
/ bachelors the maids. The names
drawn are valentines to those who
draw them. The young men were ex-
pected to entertain their valentines
with dances and treats, and often to
make them costly presents. They
also wore the billets containing their
valentines names on their sleeves or
their hearts for many days. And
often, says the learned mission, tliEs
sport begun in fun was continued IL
earnest.
In some places, particularly Lon-
don, the lads valentine was the
first lass he met after leaving
the house on Valentines day,
and the lass's was the first
ldu Sne met unuer the same cir
cumstances. Presenting ones valen-
tine with present was called s're-
lieving.'' because being drawn as a
valentine obliged the chosen one to
bring gift to his lady. At some val
entine parties the young man had a
right to kiss the maid whose name he
drew, and drawing the same name
three times was thought very fortu-
nate omen.
"St. Valentine was chosen to be the
guardian of lovers. says our old
writer ''not because lo5sers are more
superstitious than other people. but
because they have more imaginat, IN. =
So he gives us to understand that srv-
ers were helpless set of people, w .
needed saint to take care of them!
There are slight differences in the
customs of different countries, but
the same idea runs through all the
ceremonies ST. Valentines day is the
day of choosing ones mate The old
country tradition has it that all the
birds of the air choose their mates for
the yes oa st. Valentines dayl
An old English rhyme says;
Where can the postman be, / says
He ought to fiy-on such day
OF all days in the year, you know,
It's 1nonstrous rude to be SO slow
The fellows so exceeding stupid
Hark-there he is--Ah the dear Cupid.
To MY Valentine.
If should write valentine