When is Valentines day

"Very few people know just how the tradition of sending love notes and presents on February 14, originated.  The St. Valentine's tradition goes back around 270 AD, when a young Roman priest, Valentinus, was imprisoned and executed for upholding the Christian faith.  According to a researcher while in prison, Valentinus fell in love with the blind daughter of his gaoler and he restored her sight, miraculously.  He sent her a a farewell love poem, the night before he was due to die.  He signed it 'from your Valentine.'  In 1537 King Henry VIII declared by Royal Decree that February 14 should be celebrated as St. Valentine's Day.  Valentinus was made a Saint." (Source:  Valentine's Day : How did it start? Woman's home companion 17 Feb.99)

"Despite attempts by the Christian church to sanctify the holiday, the association of Valentine's Day with romance and courtship continued through the Middle Ages. Middle ages is a period in the history of Europe that lasted from about AD 350 to about 1450." (Source: Rosenwein, Barbara "Middle Ages." Microsoft Encarta 2009 [DVD] Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.)

             Valentines day gift

Valentines day traditions

• In medieval France and England it was believed that birds mated on Feb. 14, and the image of birds as the symbol of lovers began to appear in poems. 
• In many European countries throughout the Middle Ages.  Young people continued the practice of drawing names from a box to determined who would be sweethearts for the coming year, in spite of the disapproval of the church.
•  In England, it become common for the young man to wear their lady's name pinned to one sleeve- no doubt the origin of the expression to wear one's heart on one's sleeve.
• The belief that the first man a woman saw, on that day was destined to become her husband led to activities much more closely connected with the ancient pagan love festivals.
• Many Valentine's Day, customs involved ways that single women could learn who their future husbands would be.  English women of the 1700's wrote men's names on scraps of paper, rolled each on a little piece of clay, and dropped them into water.  The first paper that rose to the surface supposedly had the name of woman's true love.
• Also unmarried women pinned bay leaves  to their pillows on the eve of Valentine's Day. They pinned one leaf to the center of the pillow and one to each corner.  If the charm worked they saw their future husbands in their dreams.
• Still another oldest customs was the practice of writing women's name on slips of paper and drawing them from a jar.  The woman whose name was drawn by a man became his Valentine, and he paid special attention to her, says a researcher.

Love symbols

Origins of some common Valentine's Day symbols :

• The heart.  The heart was once though to be the seat of all emotions.  Only love was thought to emanate from the heart.
• The rose.    It was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.  The color red has always been associated with strong feelings.
• Lovebirds.  They have red bills and sit together in pairs.  Doves were thought to be the favorite birds of Venus.  Doves mate for life and because the males help care for the baby birds, doves have become a symbol of love and loyalty,
• Handkerchief.  Once were made primarily of lace.  And a common tactic was for a woman to "accidentally" drop her handkerchief, hoping a nearby potential beau would pick it up.
• Gloves.  Since the hand often is the first point of physical contact, gloves have come to have a romantic association.
• Cupid.  He was the son of Venus and shot people with his magic arrows

Printed cards had largely replaced written sentiments by the 19th century.  In 1840 the first line of mass-produced valentines for sale was created.

              Valentine Hearts

             Valentines roses

             Lovebirds

Valentine's day poems

                             "Valentine's day

                              is a day set apart

                              for thinking of those

                              who are dear to our heart,

                              those who are special

                               and wonderful too...

                               so of course, it's a day

                               for remembering you

                               Happy Valentine's Day

                               to you..."  (Anonymous)

Source:  Anonymous, "Valentine's Day: How did it start?" Woman's home companion 17 Feb. 99

              Anonymous, "Valentine Symbols."  Woman's home companion, 21 Feb. 01

              Rosenwein, Barbara "Middle Ages." Microsoft Encarta 2009 [DVD] Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.