St. Valentine’s Day
– Trivia submitted by Nida Rofe

THE celebration of this day goes back thousands of years, to ancient Rome. Falling during the season of spring, it was considered a time particularly propitious for love. It was believed that birds started to mate on this day and that, therefore, it would be only natural for humans to pair off as well.

Valentines, who was a Roman bishop at the time, felt that the edict contradicted the will of God and was against human nature. He therefore continued – though now secretly – to marry young lovers. But he could not do so for long. His clandestine solemnization was discovered. Arrested, he was thrown into prison, and beheaded in AD 269. It is supposed that he suffered martyrdom on 14 February, the very day dedicated to Juno. Ever since, it was kept as St. Valentine’s Day and was considered, even by the church, a date most appropriate for declarations of love.

Tradition tells that, while in prison, Valentine had fallen in love with the gaoler’s daughter, whose blindness he had miraculously cured. In a letter he declared his passionate feelings towards her, signing it ‘From your Valentine’. And was his signature that gave us the Valentine card!

It was not to last, however. People came to recent the practice of having their sweethearts chosen to them – by chance. They felt that their own choice should take the place of luck. On February 14 they thus begun to send cards, sets of verses or even gifts to the ones they admired. They often did so anonymously, and it was left to the recipient to guess the author or donor. Those unable to find their own words selected them from special handbooks, published for the purpose. Some of these, such as THE YOUNG MAN’s VALENTINE WRITER, date back to year 1797.

Eventually, the printed Valentine card came into existence. The introduction of cheap postal rates added greatly to their popularity, already assured by the intriguing mystery of the unnamed sender’s identity.

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