The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1907-02-14

Christmas means, OF IN
dependence day, Thanksgiving day,
Easter. but the origin of st. Valen-
tines day, or even its meaning. is
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 belaced,
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. II repre-
sents the dual worship of great
man of the church and cupid, the mis-
chievous patron and saint Of love.
1t was queer beginning for a
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
Ia as the day on which the faithful
should do honor to his memory.
On this day it became the custom
to hold love feast, which became
known as the Feast of Lupercalia. 1t
81, l;srfD al,
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
| somewhat secular tone. From loving
| your sister as a 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-
scribed that no one could of right re-
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 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 haC
taken firm hold on the people, ant
was not to be easily abolished.
For long time the worship of the
day was fairly divided between st
Valentine and Cupid First, the PEG
pie would send up 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 VI
to huge wooden box affixed to /;
pole and drop in the opening slip o
paper with her name written thereon
When every girl had deposited he
slip, the youths would file up anC
draw each one a slip. With palpitat
ing hearts would they read the names
drawn, for to the maiden thus giver
to them by good st. Valentine the!
must be faithful for one year.
Frequently the girl thus drawn
known as a valentine, became tn,
wife of the man to whose lot she hat
fallen before the expiration of tn,
year of service. The custom LASTED
through many centuries.
st. Valentine gave the excuse 70
these sentimental exchanges, but Gu
pid reaped the actual profit. In poin
of antiquity, Cupid was far the senio
of st. Valentine, though the latter i
also pictured in the dignity of gra
| DColus Nupih 10 a HltIc bDTlI
of boy. with bow and arrows. 81
Valentines era was some 20 centurie
back. Cupid reaches into the din
NEST mist of the antiquities. In fact
there never was time when Cupid di
not exist.
The little god himself sent the frs
valentine OF which there is any rec
ord, though it wasn't the kind of mis-
sive that now comes through tn
malls in big square envelope.
The first valentine was a rathe
crude sort of love message, for
gave pain, but Cupid had an excuse
He lacked other means OF reachin
! the affections of the obdurate Psyche
and when maidens resist a zealou
suitor they must expect summar
treatment
Cupid was the son of Venus. hersel