Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-14
CUPID AND POSTWAR
WORKING TOGETHER IN INTER
EST OF ST. VALENTINE.
Heavy Mail Today Made Up Largely
of Tender Missives-Origin
Of the Custom.

This is the one day of the three hundred
and sixty-five that Cupid and the postman
work hand in hand. All night long and all
day long the people Of the District nave
beer sending their missives OF love, ana
tonight the mystic fairy lamps Will APP
pear in the doorways Of b!ushing sweet
hearts while bashful SWANS will be seen
lurking in the neighborhood Of their fair Ia
dies homes to assure themselves that they
will get the tender reminder of the day OF the
patron saint of lovers. The observance OF
St. Valentines day Is purely an English
custom, and is said to be observed prin-
cipally in England, Scotland and the
United States. The origin Of the custom
Is lost in history. BY whom or when 1t
was started, and what causes led to Its
starting, together with the reason why 1t
should be called St. Valentines day, are
questions that the most grave and learned
seignieurs who attend to such matters, have
as yet been unable to answer 1t is be-
lieved that the pretty custom was first
observed during the age when Chaucer
sang Of love and valor and that 1t re-
ceived great impetus hundreds of years
later, when Shakespeare held up to the
English people for the first time his beau
tiful pen pictures of human nature.
Origin Of the Name.
The name for the day Is considered
good one by the people who selected It,,
but it does more than anything else to
confuse the multitude as to the reasons
for giving 1t such a name. The name OF
Valentine was very common in some coun-
tries during the early days OF the Christian
era. and there were numbers of good people
who attained fame under it. OF these the
rfNyr yhn Chnd
blood for his religion during the reign Of
Claudius in Rome. Others were famous
as teachers and theologians and as men OF
moral force. So great were their virtues
that one fine day the powers VINO nave
charge of such things decided to canonize
the entire lot of Valentines. The usual
preliminaries were gone through with ard
the canonization took place February IA.
the result being st. Valentines day, which
time has made day for the exchange Of
messages Of love. under the impression
that 1t was the feast day Of the patron
saint of love. The composite polyglot st.
Valentine. for some of him came from the
north and some from the south, as well as
from the east and west, therefore stands
for all there is of love and tender thoughts
Observed Ages Ago.
In the United States the custom Of send
ing valentines has been very generally OBJ
served ever since the beginning Of history.
Years ago when the custom was more
highly appreciated than now the doubling
swain endeavored to deposit his valentine
where his mistress would get it, leaving
no name or token by which she could dis
cover who sent it.
1t was the belief that her own heart
would tell her who sent the valentine. She
was believed to be the valentine Of the one
Of whom she thought when she received the
missive. In the evening fairy lamps were
1frr1, TOD 11Ft Of fho don .<SR f1,n 106r
chamber while the sweetheart fingered to
see what she did and how she behaved when
she discovered 1t.
But the commercial!sm Of the age has
as everything else, and the valentine
of today is a manufactured product, on
which the tender verses are printed and the
swain has his choice Of hundreds Of senti-
ments from which to choose. In the olden
time he was supposed to write his own
poetry and decorate the valentine himself
in manner he deemed most appropriate.
But the invention Of the printing press and
the Autograph press have deprived the mis-
sive of its romantic value, and it has degen-
Grated into mere commercial product
where sentiment is bought and sold with
the sang frotd that attends the sale Of cab
bages and with great deal more profit.
Big Day in Washington.
This is the biggest Valentines day Wash
lngton has had in years, the officials of the
city post Office said this morning. The send
ing of elaborate valentines has be-
come the fad, and the post office was piled
up with boxes and packages when the car
riers went to work to sort out their mail this
morning. 1t Is the belief Of the carriers
that the mail today Is almost as heavy as
1t was during the Christmas week.
One remarkable fact about It, as COM
pared with the holiday rush, is that very
few packages are misdrected. There have
been dozens Of misdirected valentines re-
ceived at the post Office during the day,
but the percentage Of improperly addressed
mail Is much less than it was at Christ
mas. One package early this morning was
not even wrapped in paper. The box was
dropped in the package drop without even
a piece of cord being tied about 1t to keep
on the lid and conceal its contents from
the gaze Of the multitude. The valentine
that lay within the box was a handsome
piece Of snowy finery 1t was pink and
green and blue and red and had the most
tender of verses on the most transparent Of
celluloid, while on top of it rested a cash
slip bearing the name Of one Of the big
department stores below which was written
Wal. 40 cents"
The mails this afternoon were not so
heavy as they were this morning, but are
still bulky and promise to continue SO dur
Ing the day. The rush will be over with
the last delivery the history Of the post
office furnishing no precedent of the Valen-
tines day exchange extending over more
than one day.