The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-02-02
Official City. State and County
Newspaper
Valentines Go Modern

C6lCASIO NEW YUM bO0AON
------------------
We. Valentines Go Modern
lat II the postman hobs around next
u.s., ~ February IA with an envelope of un-
hi. usual size, fear not for it may be
utl valentine.
- And this years valentines, by the
rts way, are said to have gone modern.
ria The same sweet sentiments as Of
It yore are expressed in many Of them
but others are of less ardent strain.
M The makers apparently are attempt
lie ing to promote the sending OF valen-
10Y tines to the same grand scale which
, ,cs the Christmas card now enjoys
tai And so it behooves the ardent swain
vor the hopeful miss to inspect with
IN care the chosen greeting. A lot of
-. the new designs have substituted the
I'M word like" for the "love" of by-gone
1oi days. These are the ones designed
~ for exchange between platonic
friends.
But Dan Cupid and the red heart
nv still are in evidence, even though the
e, tendency has been to make more for
mi NAL the terms Of glowing affection.
pr The origin of Valentines Day is
p popularity ascribed to certain Saint
IN Valentine, but as it happens, Valen-
tine was the name of a considerable
90 number Of saints. The most cele-
~ :" brated were two martyrs whose festi-
fo walls fall on February 14-one Ro-
hi man priest and the other bishop Of
p TERM. In the light Of cold historical
.. research, no reason for the senti-
ro mental tradition that attaches to the
al day is found in the lives Of either OF
. these two men. Scholars, therefore.
r. prefer the explanation that the word
valentine" with all it implies, de-
rives from the Latin adjective val
! ems" from which come both "valient"
b and gallant" as the letters "v' and
. .g'' were interchangeable in popular
speech. A further word-hunt also
eliscloses the Norman word "galatin"
was frequently written "valantan" or
'valentin" and meant, as nearly as 1t
can be translated, "lover of the fair
sex"
One Of the first Of the English die
tionaries says of Valentines Day:
about this time of the year-month
Of February-the birds choose their
mates and probably thence came the
custom Of the young men and maid
ems choosing valentines, or special
loving friends, on that day"
One of the earliest Valentines ex-
tant Is q 14th Century poem written
4 by John Lydgate in praise of Cath
crime, the wife Of Henry v, which
runs:
"seynte Valentine of custome yeere
by yeere
Men have an issuance, in this re-
gioun,
TO loke and serche Cupides kalendere,
And chose theyr choyse by CRETE
81 811eCClOuu.
In the time Of Shakespeare the val
entine greeting consisted Of Good
] morrow, tbs st. Valentines Day.. The
man or maid who said it first on
meeting person of the opposite sex
received present. In Scotland the
first young man or girl one met by
chance on Valentines Day became
I the valentine. There is reason to be-
lieve. however, that it was permis-
sible to close the eyes and refuse to
open them until the desired mate ar
I rived.
The first record of a valentine
drawing is given In the diary Of the
omniscient Mr.. Pepys, who writes in
1867: This morning came up to my
wife,s bedside little Will Mercer to be
her valentine and brought her name
writ upon blue paper in gold letters"
In the 18th and early 18th centuries
valentine messages were written on
heavy gilt-edged paper and further
adcrned with gilt cupids gummed on.
Often they were made still more
elaborate by cutting the edge with
scissors to make q fancy border.
Ihe first fancy valentine made in
Au,erica dates from 1850 and is cred
Ma 70 Esther Rowland. daughter Of
: otattoner IA Worcester. Mass. From