Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1901-02-14
ALWAYS APPROPRIATELY cELE,
DRAFTED BY YOUNG PEOPLE.
BoTHyouTHsAN AND DAMsELs
Take Advantage Of the Day to Sing
Their Songs of Love-Drawinas for
Valentines in Olde England--A
Custom Of Ancient Rome Brought
Down to Date.


by serious thoughts and ascetic living
the ecclesiastical prefix to mis- name,
should have with the custom of dis
patching through the medium of the
United States mails all kinds of ride
ulous missives, has always puzzled
those who like consistency. If any
saint representing a valentine should
come to earth again and peruse some
of the doggerel rhyme of doubtful
color attached to pictures of colors too
demonstrative to be doubtful, the
worthy monk would probably bring
suit for the abolishing of the custom
and the plotting OF February Il from
the calendar. ~
The poetry of the day has gone.
Only the memory of it's romance re
mains. 1t was the mating time fo2
the birds, according to the once pop
ular belief. 1t was the universal mat
ing time, according to the popular idea
further development. The earliest
stages of the development of this inter-
esting coupling of Cupid S name with the
custom of the day is many centuries
old. The custom prevailed in various
parts of Europe of drawing lots for
valentines. A number of the unmar.
ried of both sexes assembled, wrote
each others names on slips of paper.
threw the slips into common recep-
tacle and then drew them, the men the
women's slips from one lottery box,
the women the mems from another
| The drawing then went on, the one
who drew certain slip becoming that
persons valentine. Frequently the i'm.
aginary engagement thus begun in the
| playfulness of a holiday gathering,
changed later to a real one. This is no.
to be wondered at when it is remem.
bered that the knight was bound by
the rules of Valentine Day to wait
hand and foot on the lady whose name
had been drawn by him in the lottery,
and be her devoted slave for a whole
year, or until the following 14th of
February, when a new drawing of lots
would free him from one service and
bind him to another.
The custom, which extended all
through the countries of Europe, from
the common people to the courtiers,
broadened until the valentine game
came to be played by married, as well
as single players and in addition to
being bound to run errands for and
wait on the lady whose name was writ
ten on the slip drawn from the lottery
| box, the knight was expected to make
her present. Just when the valentine
custom fell from grace is not known
but the present day practice of play
| ing pranks with the self-esteem of an
acquaintance by sending him or her
| wicked caricature of human being
with verses that are supposed to make
the connection between the person re-
ceiving the valentine and the picture
at once apparent, is of comparatively
recent origin. Most people agree that
the custom is a nuisance, and the per-
son caricatured wonders Why a nine,
teenth century civilization makes muir
der an offense punishable by law.
About the only explanation given for
the connection of the saints and the
14th of February is, that the ancient
Romans beqneathed to us February
festival similar to that described, of
drawing from the lottery box the
names of women, who became the af-
fianced of the one who drew the name.
This pagan practice shocked the pre-.
lates when Christianity began to get
the upper hand and a courageous eff.
fort was made to stamp it out. but
1t proved too popular; and so the best
that the clergy could do was to give
the sanction of the church to the fes.
tival, by having saint selected on the
14th of February, who was called
Valentine.
But it is far more likely that the
custom of sending valentines on one
day of the year is queer survival of
the religion of nature that existed in
primitive Europe. 1t would seem so
from the fact that legendary lore has
handed down to us this passage:
about this time Of the year, the birds
choose their mates, and thence prob
ably came the custom OF the young
men and nlaidens choosing valentines