River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1902-02-13

>ENssa AMT VALENTINE -four
M>N ished, or rather, suffered
M4@SSN martyrdom during the
SNSysN reign Of Emperor Claudius,
NggsM about 270. He had been
canonized and his festival
celebrated by the time of Gregory the
Great, elected pope in 500. What CON
nection the Christian martyr should
have with Cupid's day, the 18th OF Feb
ruary, it would be pretty difficult to
imagine Some historians say that the
custom of sending valentines had It's
origin in heather instead of Christian
practices, being concerned with some
mysterious rite in honor of the god
dess Juno. The explanation that
seems more or less plausible that the
holiday originating in the worship of
Juno should have received the name
of the Christian Saint Valentine is that
both Juno's day and the saints festival
occurred on, or about, the same day.
It seems to us perhaps after all the
good Saint Valentine did have some
thing to do with the day, in spite OF
delivers in musty records to the con-
trary. The Catholics have given us
many pretty piece of imagery as well
as 80 many masterpieces of art, and
what prettier thought than that old
one of theirs in regard to the good
bishops natal day, the 14th of Febru-
airy? They said on that birthday the
birds chose their mates, and as long
ago as Shakespeare's time poets hand
led the theme. 1t made the simple folk
feel yet more tenderly toward their
saint, feel that even Nature was help
ing in keeping his memory green.
And what more natural the idea, in
the course of years, should have grown
that Valentines day was not only a
mating time for the feathered tribe,
but also for maids and men? 1t was
rushing the spring little, to be sure,
but one is allowed to stretch a point
now and then.
When the idea that Saints day was
becoming mating day for lads and
1asses, it became customary for the
men and women to choose each his or
her valentine, to whom he or she would
be mated for the rest of the year. An
old book, Missions "Travels in Eng
land" reports that on the eve of st.
Valentines San equal number of maids
and bachelors get together each writes
their true or some feigned name upon
separate billets, which they roll up
and draw by way of lots, the maids
taking the mems billets, and the men
the maids; SO that each of the young
men lights upon a girl he calls his
valentine, and each of the girls upon
a young man which she calls hers. By
this means each has two valentines
but the man sticks faster to the val
entine that is fallen to him than to
the valentine to whom he is fallen.
Fortune having thus divided the COM
pany into SO many couples, the val
entines give balls and treats to their
mistresses, wear their billets several
days upon their bosoms or sleeves. and
this little sport often ends in love-
Further on Nilsson tells "There is
another kind of valentine, which is the
first young man or woman chance
throws in your way in the street or
elsewhere" on Valentines day. The
occasion when one met ones valentine
was usually marked by the presenta-
ton by the gentleman of a gift and
of some poetic effusion to the lady.
In the time of Pepys, that immortal
gossip, the custom was in full swing.
and prudent Pepys noted in his diary
that Il am also this year my wife's
valentine, and it will cost me Co."
That it cost gentlemen of high degree
q good round sum to obtain valen-