The Bolivar County Democrat., 1907-02-16

Everybody knows what
Christmas means, or In
dependence day, Thanksgiving day.
Easter, but the origin of st. Valen'
tines day, or even it's meaning, is q
riddle but few have solved.
1t is one of the oldest OF the holi-
days. Only Christmas and Easter go
further back into antiquity. These
days have been observed ever since
there was religion. But all the rest
of the holidays are but infants beside
the February occasion when beiaced,
befringed and beflowered love tokens
are sent on their sentimental jour-
neys.
st. Valentines day began some
where about the opening OF the third
century 1t is quaint combination
of religion and sentiment. 1t repre-
sents the dual worship Of great
man of the church and cupid, the mis-
chievous patron and saint Of love.
1t was a queer beginning for .
great holiday that people should have
united on the same day to honor st.
Valentine and Cupid. No more dis
similar deities could be found.
st. Valentine was an early day mar
tyr. He died for the church, and in
commemoration of his goodness and
piety the Holy See set aside February
a as the day on which the faithful
should do honor to his memory.
IN low thu n11Ctn
to hold love feast, which became
known as the Feast of Lupercalia. 1t
was at first peculiarly religious OBJ
servance modelled somewhat on the
love feasts that are still held in many
churches, in which members Of the
congregation break bread with each
other, as a sign Of peace and good
fellowship.
Eventually the young folks passed
from the purely religious feature OF
the holiday, and began to give 1t a
somewhat secular tone. From loving
your sister as fellow believer in the
tenets of the church was not far
step from loving her with the sort Of
sentiment that usually leads to the
altar.
So in place of merely breaking
bread together, according to the sim
pie form of old, the young men in
augurated the custom of sending
beautiful gifts to the women of their
hearts. 1t was easy to do this with
out fear of reproof, for custom pre-
coriho1 tbot M cpo could ~ ri oht ro.
fuse that which came on st. Valen-
tines day, with all the gentle senti-
ments of love and Christian brother
hood that the festival inspired.
Thus in a gradual way Cupid had
come to usurp the place that st. Val
entine had once held all alone, and
what was originally time of prayer
gradually transformed itself into the
season when love sent out it's mes
sengers and pleas.
The wise old fathers of the church
fought this merging of the religious
with the secular, but the idea had
taken a firm hold on the people, and
was not to be easily abolished.
For long time the worship of the
day was fairly divided between St
Valentine and Cupid. First, the Peo-
pie would send up a prayer for the
martyr. Then, this duty discharged
they would assemble in the public
squares, the maids forming in line
and youths standing by in laughing
eagerness.
One by one the girls would file uI
to a huge wooden box affixed to 8
pole and drop in the opening slip Of
paper with her name written thereon
When every girl had deposited hel
slip, the youths would file up an6
draw each one a slip. With palpitat
ing hearts would they read the names
drawn, for to the maiden thus giveI
to them by good st. Valentine they
must be faithful for one year.
Frequently the girl thus drawn
known as valentine, became the
wife of the man to whose lot she hat
fallen before the expiration of the
year of service. The custom LASTED
through many centuries.
Ol. VdltuCluC SdfC tHS CASuoS hOi
these sentimental exchanges, but Gu
pid reaped the actual profit In poin
of antiquity, Cupid was far the senior
of st. Valentine, though the latter l.
also pictured in the dignity of gray
beard, while Cupid is mere spritt
of a boy, with bow and arrows. st
Valentines era was some 20 centurie,
back. Cupid reaches into the dim
NEST mist of the antiquities. In fact
there never was time when Cupid die
not exist.
The little god himself sent the frs
valentine of which there is any rec
ord, though it wasn't the kind CT mis-
sive that now comes through tn
mails in big square envelope.
The first valentine was a rathe
crude sort of love message, for I
gave pain, but Cupid had an excuse
He lacked other means of reachin
the affections of the obdurate PSYCHE