Alma record., 1914-02-12
NOT OBSERVED AS
in The OLD DAYS
st. Valentine Is Now Neglected,
Compared to What Was Done
Some Two Centuries Ago.

~ HE sending by mail OF en-
! ] !: ! 6 ! !. !. {: ! ! ! 4: : : ! ! ! !: !: !. ! ! ! ! !
NhII bossed tokens Of love or
VI friendship is about all
I1 EA there Is left Of the ancient
1HQ kG customs Of st. Valentines
SG day. The windows and
SSEXW play counters of our book
stores and bazars are filled
at this season of the year with exam
pies Of art and near-art to an extent
that should please every sort of taste in
regard to valentines. There is day
or two Of fun and merry chatter when
the tokens are received. or of even
more boisterous mirth If the valen-
tines are comic" here and there a
valentine party is given by the young
people. then the celebrating ceases
and is forgotten.
Not so a couple Of centuries ago.
Then the festivities were much more
in the character Of observance and
ceremonies. The origin of ST Valen-
tines day is credited to different Incl
dents. One writer OF ancient social
customs says that it originated with
Nine. Royale, daughter of Henry ",
of France. The lady having built
splendid palace near Turin, desired to
name it for some good saint, and final
ly chose St Valentine. Thus the ed
ifce was called The Valentine" and
at the initial entertainment given in
the great drawing rooms, Nine. Roy
ale conceived the idea of causing hor
guests to pair off by means g ii H.
terry.
Ladies Drew From Lot.
The names of the men were writ
ten on slips of paper and folded. The
ladies then drew from the list, and
whoever each one drew was to be her
valentine" for the space of one year.
At the various balls which this gay
spirited young princess gave during
the season it was understood that each
lady should receive a bouquet from
her chosen lover, and that at every
tournament the trappings Of knights
horse should be furnished by his allot-
ted lady, with this provisio-that the
lady eventually receive whatever prize
he might win. Nine Royale, however,
would not herself enter into this lot
terry, but reserved the privilege Of
choosing her valentine" independent
ly.
Doubtless it is true that this lady
did originate this costume at her pal
ace in Turin, but it is also quite as
true that this was not the real origin
Of ST. Valentines day, for it is alluded
to by English poets before her time.
Lydgate, monk, who died in the
year 1440, and who has been described
as "the poet of his monastery" wrote
a poem in praise of Queen Catherine,
consort of Henry ", of England, in
which he mentioned the observance of
ST. Valentines day and the custom Of
drawing lots"
Indeed this custom seems to have
been a very ancient one, and contin-
ued to comparatively modern times.
An equal number Of young men and
women would meet together on the
eve st. Valentines day and hold lot
terry, in which the names of both men
and women were drawn; thus each
maid and bachelor would have two
valentines" who we're required to
make mutual gifts. This, of course,
occasioned any amount of mirth and
some funny situations.
Other Superstitions.
One superstition which held good
until quite recent times was that the
first young man or young woman one
chanced to meet on the morning of
Valentines day would be ones valen-
tine. Other superstitions included
mystic rites, particularly in Scotland,
which enabled maidens to learn who
would be their future husbands. About
the middle of the eighteenth century
one young woman-according to the
historian of social customs of that
time-wrote as follows:
Last Friday was Valentines day,
and Ill tell you what | did the night
before. ] got five bay leaves, pinned
four of them to the four corners Of my
pillow and the fifth to the middle, for,
If ! dreamt of my sweetheart, Betty