News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1901-02-13
ST. VALENTINES DAY.
Postmaster Fisher and His Assistants
Viii Be Busy tomorrow.

Day.
More mail will he handled on that
day by Uncle Sans postal officials il
all parts Of the country than upon
any other day in the year.
Boys and girls and young men and
maidens of Morrisville will monopo-
lie almost the entire attention of
Postmaster Fisher and his corps of
able assistants from morning until
night on February 14-not legal
holiday, but one that the younger
element of society considers to be of
even greater Importance than some
holidays
The valentines" that pass through
the post offices are countless both in
numbers and variety. including comic,
vulgar, witty, sentimental and low
ing.
st. Valentine is called the saint OF
lovers, but the original st. Valentine
seems not to have had any such am
biriOn. He was a Roman priest, who
suffered martyTdom, being beaten
win clubs and then hehpadPd in tAt
year 270 A. D. The 14th Of Febru
airy was appointed by the church to
be Obseiv we'd in his honor. But dur
ing the month of February, On
ancient Roman days, festivals were
held in honor of Februata-Juuo.
These fessts we're called the Luper-
Gala. One of the celebrations con-
sisted of writing the names OF many
young women upon slips, and these
names were deposited with much cere-
mony in a 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
abolish all the old pagan festivals
and substitute Christian ones. And
the lovers festival of February was
one which is said to have been altered
under their direction. 1t was placed
under the guardianship of st. Vdlen.
tine merely because his church day
came at the same date as that of the
old pagan festival of LupeIcaia
This is the explanation B%s~ aAeea ~.
most learned writer's on the subject.
The mates chosen were called "val-
entines" simply on account Of the
day of choosing. And it is likely
that the pretty pretense OF secrecy
observed in the sending of valentines
can be also traced to this old custom
of hiding the written names and hav
ing them drawn out by chance. The
fun and romance of valentines all de-
pend on these conditions.
The Valentine Day celebrations
have been kept i'll England and Scot
land for many years. Shakespeare
and Chaucer both alIude to them,
also the poet Lydgate, who died in
1440. A learned traveller named
Nilsson, who wrote in the seventeenth
century, describes the Old English
valentine party:
"On the eve of February IA the
young folks gather together, an equal
mum Der of maids and bachelors form
ing the party. Each one writes his
or her name on a separate billet and
these are rolled up and cast into a
pile. Then the names are drawn, the
maids drawing the bachelors names,
and the bachelors the maids. The
names drawn are valentines to the
ones who draw them. The young
men we're expected to entertain their
valentines with dances and treats
and often to make them costly pres.
ents, They also wore the billets con.
tanning their valentines names on
their sleeves or their hearts for many
days" And often, says the learned
Nilsson, the sport begun in fun was
continued in earnest.
In some places, particularly Lon
don, the lads valentine Was the first
lass he met after leaving the house OF
Valentines Day, and the lass's was
: the first lad she met under the same
: circumstances. Presenting ones val
entine with present was called ore
lieviDg," because being drawn as G
valentine obliged the chosen one tC
bring a gift to his lady. At some
: valentine parties the young man haC
right to kiss the maid whose name
he drew, and drawing the same name
three times was thought very for
) tunate omen.
D st. Valentine was chosen to be thu
) guardian of lovers" says our ole
3 writer, mot because lovers are NOR,
i. superstitious than other people, bu
f., because they have more magma
: tion." So he gives us to understand
8 that lovers were helpless set of PEG
! pie, who needed q saint to take car
} of them!
There are slight differences in tn
e customs of different countries, bu
e the same idea runs through all tn
/, ceremonies. st. Valentines Day i
j the day of choosing ones mate. TIL
: old country tradition has it that al
/, the birds of the air choose their mate
: for the year on st. Valentines Day
: An old English rhyme says:
Q Where can the postman be, say2
He ought to hy-on such day
/ OF all days in the year, you know,
It's monstrous rude to be SO SLOW
The fellows 80 exceeding stupid
/ HaTk-there he is-Ahl the dear Cupid
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