-
The shift from martyr to romantic celebration
is due in part to Chaucer's poem "Parliament of Fowls" which
discusses the mating rituals of birds on Valentine's day.
-
In the 1600s and 1700s in Britain, Valentine's
Day had a lot of folk traditions: people drew lots to chose their
valentine.
-
Valentine's Day was also a time for fortunetelling
and omens. Young women went into churchyards at midnight looking for
omens, or placed hemp seed or bay leaves under their pillows, hoping
for prophetic dreams that would give hints about the identity of their
future husbands.
-
"Special days for fortunetelling and
to discern the identity of one's future spouse" also included:
St. Agnes Eve (January 20), St. David's Day (March 1), May Eve and
May Day, St. Anne's Eve (July 25), St. Faith's Day (October 6), Halloween,
St. Tomas's Eve (December 20) and New Year's Eve-all times for "love
charms and matrimonial divinations."
-
Among the aristocrats participating in life
in the royal court, Valentine's Day was time to offer poems and extravagant
gifts to the loved one.
-
In Elizabethan England, singles were allowed
to send a token of their affection on Valentine's day.
-
The custom was "that the first person
you saw on leaving your house that morning would automatically become
your valentine.
-
If you reached mutual agreement on being Valentine's
you would exchange names" on paper strips. Men carried strips
in their hatbands while women wore them in their bodices.
-
Since Valentine's were supposed to include
personal sentiments in verse forms, and many people were intimidated
at the thought of writing poetry, Valentine Writers-books full of
verses that could be altered or copied became popular.
-
British Valentine Writer books included titles
such as "The Turtle Dove; or, Cupid's artillery leveled against
Human Hearts, Hymen's Revenge against old Maids, Old Bachelors, and
Impertinent Cox-combs."
-
Valentine's cards were sold in much the same
way potions were peddled, with a touch of magic implied, "COQUETRY
cured in ten minutes. PROUD MAIDENS rendered soft and tender on reasonable
terms."
Source:
Anthony F. Aveni, "February's Holidays: Prediction, Purification,
and Passionate Pursuit" in Book of the Year : A Brief History of
Our Seasonal Holidays. New York : Oxford University Press, 2003.
|
|