Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-13
ST. VALENTINES DAY
It's Cupid's Clearing House
Festival.
IN HEARTS AND DARTS
AMUSING AND SENTIMENTAL
CELEBRATIONS.
Pretty Ideas and Suggestions in Deco
rating Table or Playing
Games.
IN HEARTS AND DARTS

st. Valentines day. is almost here. This
saints day Is a sort of clearing house fol
that little rascal Cupid. The old time love
message with nothing at all elusive or sub
tie in the sweet meaning of it's very direc
couplet and emblazoned with Cupids GOA
of arms Is still the chldrens dearly beloved
valentine. But the grownups' greeting!
take the form of heart-shaped baskets
filled with violets or charming symbolic
arrangements Of candy or big boxes 81
roses, with only the freemasonry of love
as name card.
The exchange Of presents on st. Valen.
tines day is an old custom. Sir Walter
Scott in his Fair Maid of Perth alludes
to this practice and describes the gift the
mighty armorer Henry Smith had made US
a valentine for Catherine Glover. This
token was a ruby cut in the form of a
was inclosed in small purse of linked
STEEL Around the clasp of the purse were
the words
Loves dart
Cleave hearts
Through mail-shirts.
The armorer Is said to have been much
pleased with this clever device, which i'm
piled that his skill could defend all hearts
save his own. This ancient gift may sug-
gest to some twentieth century swain a
Lost in a Maze.
The origin of most festivals is easy to
trace but St Valentines day seems to
be lost in a maze of irreconciIable myths
The day doubtless had a cause. which
through the carelessness of the ancients
has been lost. The most attributable
source is to that of the early Roman cele-
bration of the festival of Lupercalia, at
WI w IA
of matrimonial lottery. Small tablets
bearing the names of young women were
placed in a box and drawn out by the
young men after the manner of lottery.
The drawer was in duty bound to be the
faithful attendant for twelve months of
her whose name he picked out of the box.
These sham engagements often resulted
in real ones. The reason for holding this
lottery during the Lupercala was that
this festival occurred at the bird mating
time of the year, a tradition which still
attaches to st. Valentines day. When
Christianity shed it's rays over pagan Rome
the early fathers wanted to substitute
saints for sweethearts in the lottery, but
they only succeeded In altering the name
of the festival from Lupercaha to that of
St. Valentine, whose martyrdom fell on
the same date in February.
Although all the excitement of Valen-
tines day is supposed to be over when
skirts are heightened and the hair done
up we know that the interest does not
of bells and no sudden flights the valen-
tine is left at the favorite's door. These
escapades are put away with the days of
childhood but other pleasures are in store
for the children of a larger growth.
A Cupid Luncheon.
The debutante's Cupid luncheon will be
one of the amusements of this st. Valen-
tines day The "buds'' of the season are
the only guests invited to a spread Of this
kind and each one is pledged to tell her
most thrilling heart experience of the
winter, with the name of the gay gallant
suppressed.
The table, a round one which will seat
twelve girls perhaps. has charmingly
simple and dainty eenterpiece of pulled
white chiffon lined with pale blue silk
bordered with forgetmenots and held in
place with small bisaue Cupids. In the
middle of the centerpiece is gondola
shaped rush basket filled with the forget
menots. White and gold candlesticks with
pale blue shades are placed at intervals
around the chiffon centerpiece and con-
nected with festoons of pale blue ribbon
tying in bow on each candlestick The
cut glass bonbon dishes are heart-shaped.
as also are the menu cards, which are of
pale blue cardboard decorated with the
hostess monogram In silver and an ap-
propriate verse prettily iettered. The ices
and entrees ere in the form Of our life
sustaining little engine, the heart The
puff boxes of ivory. in each of which are a
tiny powder puff and sprfnkling of rouge.
The top of the box has inserted in IL a bev-
eled glass mirror. The hostess should ex-
plain when presenting these gifts that the
old proverb of beauty unaderned has gone
out of date. and she is giving this aid to
loneliness not only to paint the lily. but to
assist in ensnaring the heart Of some brave
handsome man.
An Amusing Plan.
If the girls are Oh intimate terms recep-
tacle fashioned like post package box fill
ed with funny presents may be brought in
by child dressed as Cupid. with the box
slung across his back and bow and arrow
In his hand. Each present Is wrapped in
lots Of tissue paper and tied with blue rib
bon. and as the hostess calls out the names
the girls will each out eagerly for their
gifts Much merrfment will result when
the girl who thinks she knows it all receives
an ivory ring ito cut her wisdom teeth on
or when the maiden who affects a dainty
foot has presented to her pair of dolls
shoes with the remark, "A size too large for
get an ''oyster." and so on until all twelve
have been hit in a JOKING, good-natured
way.
A Game of Hearts.
:. If there is sufficient energy left after this
luncheon game of hearts or heart hunt
may carry on the fun. For the heart hunt
two sets of cardboard hearts are hidden in
out of the way places in the drawing room.
On each card Of one set are written the
name OF the guest and a number, and on
the other set the cognomens Of the men OF
their set, with other numerals. The object
of the hunt is for each se;4rcher, after find
ing her own card. to leok for the heart cor
in number with her own. ST.
Valentine is supposed to see that during the