Evening star., 1936-02-09
FESTIVAL OF LOVERS
It's an Old Custom, Valentines Day, and 1t
Comes Down to Us But Slightly Changed
From Its Original Pre- Christian Guise.


increase.
A Washington department store re.
ports an increasing interest in valen-
tines with a tendency toward the
humorous type. Especially designed
family valentines, for father, mother
brother and sister are becoming more
popular. Last year there was a de-
cided increase in the sale of gifts for
valentines.
While the ancient customs and OBJ
servances of the day have changed,
the familiar symbols of fiuttering
doves and the love-tipped arrows OF
Cupid remain. These date back to
two early NEUROLOGICAL characters
Venus, the goddess of love and beauty.
and Cupid, her son, the god OF love-
Ironically enough, wild wolves $50
played part in the origin Of the day.
Long before the introduction Of
Christianity, when there we're neither
saints nor saint days, wolves were es-
pecially abundant and dangerous. A
destroyer Of wolves was held in honor
by the ancient Romans, and Lupercous,
a famous wolf destroyer" was hon
ored one day in each February by q
celebration called "Lupercalia."
/ EGEND tells us that a temple fer
pagan ceremonies was built over
the spot where Romulus and Remus
were nursed by the sacred wolf. In
the temple was sacred urn. placed on
the site Of the altar where the great
Juno and Pan burned Sacrifcial ANA
tory fires. During the Lupercalian
celebration Roman youths chose their
mates by drawing maidens' names
from the sacred urn.
A feast day of the ancient Christians
commemorated the death Of the mar
tyred Christian bishop, ST. Valentine.
These two days came close together
in February, so the Christians grated
the festival Of st. Valentine to the
pagan celebration of Lupercalia. but
many of the old customs remain to
this day.
In the third century the Emperor
ClaudiuS, during one Of his many
wars, issued a decree forbidding mar
riage in his kingdom. He knew that
married men, loath to leave their fam
lilies for the business Of war, did net
make good soldiers. Valentine. sad
dened by this decree, secretly married
all young couples who came to him.
When the Emperor Claudius learned
that his orders had been violated he
had valentine dragged to prison and
later beheaded. Thus the good Valer-
tine, friend of lovers" died. a
martyr to love, on February IA,
271 A. D.
Some OF the hoary Superstitions Of
those early days are still observed in
the outlying districts of England. II
a Derbyshire maiden does not receive
a token from the man of her choice
on st. Valentine day she is said to be
dusty and her friends sweep her of
with broom. After this performance
the love token is sure to appear.
IN LANCASHIRE, if maid chances
to meet tall man on st. Valen.
tines day she must Immediately plant
phlox which will grow taller than any
in the surrounding country. If the
first man she meets is short she does
not plant any snowy flowers, as they
will grow only l foot high.
In other villages it is deemed a good
omen for young people to 60 out be-
fore sunrise to snare an owl and two
sparrows When they return home
the neighbors give them a present.
In still other sections those who would
be lucky in love" wear a yellow
crocus on st. Valentines day.
The ancient salt-and-egg supersti-
tion is recorded in the diary of a
young girl of early England. Last
Friday was st. Valentines day" the
diary says, "and the night before I
got five bay leaves and pinned four
of them to the four corners Of my
pillow and the fifth to the middle, and
then, If I dreamt Of my sweetheart,
Betty said we should be married be-
fore the year was out. But to make it
more sure I boiled an egg hard, and
took out the yolk, and filled 1t with
salt; and when went to bed, ate it,
shell and all, without speaking or
drinking after it,
I'VE also" she continued, wrote our
lovers names upon bits of paper and
rolled them up IN clay and put them
into water, and the first that rose
up was to be our valentine. Would
you think it? Mr.. Blossom was my
man. I lay a-bed and shut my eyes
| all morning. till he came to Our house;
for I would not have seen another
before him for all the world"
Samuel Pepys, English politician
and sofficer Of the English admiralty
during the reign Of Charles II, gives
us an insight into the valentine cus-
toms of the 17th century In his his
toric diary. He admits pleasing q
young lady very much by presenting
her with pair Of green silk stockings.
garters and shoe laces, after she drew
him for her valentine.
A T another time Pepys drew Miss
Martha Batten for valentine,
took her to a store and there upon
a pair Of embroidered and six pair
of plain white gloves, laid out 40
shillings upon her" In 1867, when
the famous diarist took his wife for an
honorary valentine, he wrote that it
cost him five pounds; but he con-
soled himself that it would have cost
him as much "if we had not been
valentines"