St. Valentine's Day

As Christianity became prevalent, priests attempted to replace old heathen practices. To Christianize the ancient pagan celebration of the Feast of Lubercus, the church officials changed the name to St. Valentine's Day. To give the celebration further meaning and eliminate pagan traditions, priests substituted the drawing of Saints names for the names of the girls. On St. Valentine's Day the priest placed saint's names into an urn or box. The young people then drew a name from the container. In the following year, the youth was supposed to emulate the life of the saint whose name he had drawn.
By the fourteenth century they reverted back to the use of girl's names. In the sixteenth century they once again tried to have saintly valentines but it was as unsuccessful as the first attempt.
While it can't be proved historically, there were seven men named Valentine who were honored with feasts on February 14th. Of these men, two stories link incidents that could have given our present day meaning to St. Valentine's Day.
One of these men named Valentine was a priest during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Valentine was revered by the young and old, rich and poor, with people of all walks of life attending his services. At this time Emperor Claudius was heavily recruiting men to serve as soldiers for his wars without much success. The men preferred not to leave their wives, families and sweethearts to fight in foreign lands. Claudius became angry and declared that no more marriages could be performed and all engagements were cancelled.
Valentine thought this to be unfair and secretly married several couples. When Claudius found out, he threw Valentine in prison where he died. Friends of the priest retrieved his body and buried it in a churchyard in Rome.
Another version had St. Valentine jailed for helping Christians. While Valentine was in prison he cured a jailer's daughter of blindness. Claudius became enraged and had Valentine clubbed and beheaded on February 14, 269 A.D.
Yet another story claims that Valentine fell in love with the jailer's daughter and wrote her letters that were signed "From your Valentine."
All of the seven Valentines eventually evolved into one. In 496 Pope Gelasius declared the day in honor of St. Valentine. Through the centuries the Christian holiday became a time to exchange love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. Lovers' quarrels come under his jurisdiction and, naturally, he is the patron saint of engaged couples and of anyone wishing to marry.


Valentine's Day

Associated with all those in love, being named after the patron saint of lovers 'St. Valentine'. It was the Christian Church who popularised this day in the reign of Emperor Claudius. St. Valentine was a young priest who defied an edict from Rome and the Emperor that prohibited young males in the army from marrying. It was believed that if a soldier were to marry this would lessen his strength and dedication to the cause changing them into poor soldiers. St. Valentine defied the edict and continued to conduct wedding ceremonies and for this defiance he was executed on February 14 in AD 269.
Valentine's Day is also known as the 'Eve of Roman Lupercalia'. This was a time of great celebration, a celebration of youthful love. Chance seemed to play a large part in this festival as sweethearts were chosen by a system similar to a lottery. Since Ancient Greek and Roman times this day has held a central focus in the folkloric calendar. More recent traditions involve men and women exchanging cards which contained love dedications or even marriage proposals, each highly decorative, hand-made and personally designed. This tradition commenced in the Middle Ages. The sender then as now should never sign the card as it was considered to bring bad luck. Of course it also stifles any idea of guessing who might be in love with you. The idea of the secret admirer has long charmed both men and women alike. Love divination games were very popular during the Victorian period for young lovers. There are many divination rituals and games. One of the most often used involved the potential lover writing the name of their favourite persons on a piece of paper and sealing it in clay which was then dropped into a bowl of water. The first clay to rise to the surface when opened would reveal the name of their future sweetheart or 'Valentine'. Sending a gift to the person was the next step towards revelation and happiness in love.
Many different flowers are also associated with this day, given as tokens of love. A European belief in the power of the saffron coloured crocus to attract attention of a lover is best done if worn in the buttonhole. Armed with this she is more likely to meet her future intended. In order to dream of a future husband on this night one European custom often followed was the placing of fresh Bay Leaves under the pillow the night before. The type of flowers sent or decorating a card adds further meaning to a Valentine card and has come to be known as 'The Language of Flowers'. Some of the most well known Valentine flowers to be used to decorate the cards are highlighted below with an idea of the specific symbolism behind their inclusion, not all of which indicate love blossoming but also love on the wain.

Almond Blossom	As a symbol of hope, sweetness, delicacy.
Anenome	As a symbol of withered hopes, a dying love.
Forget-me-not	As a symbol of true love
Lily	As a symbol of purity (white), gaiety or falsehood (yellow).
Periwinkle	As a symbol of early friendship (blue), happy memories (white).
Poppy	As a symbol of fantastic extravagance (scarlet), consolation (red). If the love is faithful placing a petal in the palm of the hand and hitting it with a fist should produce a popping sound.
Rose	As a symbol of love, pure and lovely (red rose buds), jealousy (yellow). This flower is dedicated to love.
Snowdrop	As a symbol of hope, consolation. The flower is thought mythologically to have been a snowflake which was transformed to comfort Adam and Eve after they had been expelled from the Garden of Eden.
Sunflower	As a symbol of the sun, and also haughtiness.
Tulip	As a symbol of powerful love being declared (red), hopeless love (yellow). The heart burning symbolically like a flame.

In America and also in England (UK) it is traditionally believed that a young girl is able to tell what sort of man she will marry by the first bird she sees on this day. Each bird has an association with a profession or type of character but yellow birds in general are thought to be extremely lucky if seen in flight or perched nearby on this day. The following mystical birds are traditionally identified with St. Valentine's Day :

It is said that if a young girl sees a hen and a cockerel together at the same time on this day, it indicates that she will marry the next year. The number of animals seen at the same time will indicate how many months will pass before this happens. Whatever your hopes for Valentine's Day, we trust that you are

lucky in LOVE.

| Recipes | Kids | Miscellaneous | Christmas | Cats |
| Games | Family | Friends | Easter | Thanksgiving |
| 4th of July | Valentines Day | St Patricks Day |
| Mother's Day | Father's Day | Favorite Kids |
| Webrings | Halloween | Gambling | Awards | Home |