Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-14
ST. VALENTINES DAY

| LIZ eiAS a6S Ol excessive HlaIerlallSm We
may congratulate ourselves that the senti
| ment attached to St Valentines day still
| survives. and with it the time-honored Gus.
| toms which have come down to us through
the ages. Like other days in the calendar
| which are set apart for special observances
II is largely day for the young folks, al
| thouSh We who have grown older can surely
| never forget the care with which We Sc
| lecteo and ecstacy with which we mailed
valentines TO our sweethearts, and / rather
think We hoped that (by the handwriting
| on the envelope or in some other way) the
personality or the sender would be recog-
nlZeo oy the receiver In olden times ST
valentines day was one of the most i'm
portant occasions in the year, and was
looked forward to with joyful anticipation
Tor 1t was dedicated to love, and poets were
inspired by the muse and artists were filled
painted, for love is to man what the sun
| is to the world"
In common with many other festal days
IN the year, st. Valentines day had re-
ueious siShncance, which In its turn was
the outcome of the pagan custom of Roman
poys drawing the names of girls in honor of
their goddess "Februata Juno" and to
celepIate the Lupercalia, or feast days ded-
!Galeo 10 ran and Juno. On this occasion
the names OF young women were put into a
box, from which they were drawn by the
men as chance directed. When the draw
ing na "a taken place. the fair one was mott
NED OF her selection by the gift of a scarf
or soma other article Of finery. The pastors
oi lne early Christian church, recognizing
tne nold which this custom had on the
young men and women but anxious to give
It an ecclesiastical significance, required
tnat the names of saints be substituted for
tnose OF the girls, and Butler in his Lives
OF the Saints says that st. Francis de
Sales severely forbade the custom of using
the names OF girls to be admired and wait
Cd on, and changed it into one of giving
DTS or paper with the names of certain
saints inscribed, for them to honor and imi-
tate in a particular manner.
How long this substitution lasted is not
denmtely known, but it is safe to say that
the young men did not relish the change;
Tor, however much they might venerate the
saints and desire to initiate them, they
naturally preferred to mark the festival as
a time for special outpouring of their
love to damsels fair.
In early days the one chosen for special
attention was the result of chance rather
than, as now, predetermined selection, and
the custom consisted of the drawing of a
kind of lottery, followed by ceremonies not
altogether unlike our modern game of for
feits." Thus Nilsson in his Travels in
England relates that on the eve of st.
Valentines day, the young folks in England
and Scotland having met together each
wrote his or her true or assumed name on
separate billets or pieces of paper, which
were rolled up and drawn for by lot, the
girls taking the mems billets. and vice YER
sa The girl thus chosen became the val
entlne of the youth to whose lot she fell,
and in like manner the young men became
the valentines of the girls according as
means each had two valentines, but" says
Nilsson, the man sticks faster to the val
entine that has fallen to him than to the
valentine to whom he is fallen" He adds:
Fortune having thus divided up the COM
pany into so many couples the valentines
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-"
In the time of Charles II both married
and single were liable to be chosen as
valentine, and present was invariably
gwen given to ST. the choosing s party Thus o in
we find the following entry: This morn
ing came up to my wifes bedside q being
up dressing myself, little Will Mercer to
be her valentine, and brought her name
by himself, very pretty; and we We're both
well pleased with it.. But l am also this
year my wife's valentine, and it will cost
me five pounds; but that Che adds, consoling
HIMSELF I must have laid out if we had not
been valentines"
There were several ways of choosing val
entines besides those mentioned; thus, in
some counties of England 1t was popular
belief that the first man seen on ST Valen-
tines morning would be the valentine for
the year. and as we shall see, many were
the llllle SuDleTluSeS TeSOrueQ TO In order
that the maiden might meet the right man,
for they devoutly believed that "the first
swain we see, in spite Of fortune, shall our
true love be-
lieved that the spirits of deceased ancestors
walked the earth on st. Valentines eve, and
selected partners for their descendants,
whispering in the ears of the man the
name Of the one he should select for his
valentine, and filling the heart Of the maid
en- with pleasant thoughts of the morrow
In Norfolk county, it was the custom for
children to catch each other for yalen-
tines and if the parents in a given family
were known to be literally disposed, we can
imagine that special pains were taken to
catch their children. The mode of catch
ing was to say Good morrow, Valentine:''
and the one which could say this first was
the recipient of a present 1t had to be
done before sunrise, however; for otherwise
instead Of receiving a reward. they were
told that they were "sun-burnt,' and were
sent home in disgrace.
Again. in an old English ballad we read
that the girls were directed to pray cross
legged on st. Valentines day: with view
to securing good luck, while in some parts
Of England the poorer classes arrayed them
selves in fantastic costumes and visited The
houses Of the wealthy, singing:
Good morning to you. Valentine,
Curl your locks as l do mine
Two before and three behind
Good morning to you, Valentine"
But whatever form the ceremony as
Sumed, 1t looks very much If the real
purport of the thing was, first, to get a
present, and, secondly, to make declara-
ton of love.
In connection with the latter alternative,
it must be remembered that the season of
the year was that when birds chose their
mates, and this pretty idea often crept into
verses written for the occasion. Shake
speare refers to it in midsummer Nights
Dream" and Herrick writes in 1913:
loft have heard both youth and virgins
say,
Birds choose their mates, and couple too,
this day,
But by their flight never can divine
When 1 shall couple with my valentine
A pretty legend tells how Cupid calls a
convention of his messengers on Valentines
eve, to discuss the best way of whispering
love into the ears Of the sleeping damsels,
whose hearts are to be pierced on the next
morning by the arrow of fate, and while
the fairy messengers are talking, their in
fiuence is felt, and the fair ones dream Of
their loved ones.
1t was considered a good omen If the
maiden should dream of the one who,
whether by chance or design. became her
valentine next day: Some young girls in
the eastern part Of England used to try
to stimulate dreams by fastening bay
leaves to their pillows. and it was also con-
sidered helpful for the maiden to boil an egg
hard. take out the yofk and fill the space
with salt. This was then eaten in bed, and
no matter how thirsty the salt made them,
oil to