Valentines Day

Welcome to MomPeepers Valentine Pages. You will find some wonderful Poetry, Stories and other interesting Valentine things. I hope you enjoy. Please be sure to visit the Valentine Picture page link below, you may find that special picture you have been looking for this Valentines Day.

The History of Valentines Day

We know that Valentine's Day is February 14th, but why that date, instead of March 10th, or May 15th? Legends about valentines are fascinating because of their antiquity and sentimentality.

One of the most poplular is the story of St. Valentine, who chose to be exectued rather than renounce his faith in God. Valentinus was a young priest who was arrested by the Roman emperor, Claudius II, for helping fellow Christians escape persecution. While he was imprisoned, the blind daughter of the jailer brought him food, delivered messages, and comforted him as best she could. Although Valentinus' crime was considered serious, CLaudius offered the priest his freedom if he would denounce Christianity. Not only did Valentinus refuse, but he tried to convert the pagan king, which so outraged Claudius, he ordered the priest to be stoned to death.

As Valentinus awaited his execution day, he restored the sight of the jailer's daughter who had helped him. She and her father were converted to Christianity by the miracle the priest had wrought. On the eve of his death, Valentinus wrote a farewell note to the girl thanking her for all the kindness she had shown him and signed it, "From your Valentine." The next day a messenger delivered the note and a bouguet of violets to the girl at the exact moment of Valentinus' death. The day was February 14, AD270

Another legend has it that the Romans celebrated February 14th as the day the birds chose their mates, and the Romans linked that courtship with the courtship of their own young people.

The date also marked the pagan feast of Lupercalia in ancient Rome, when the names of girls were drawn by lot. The boys who drew them courted the girls for a year. If the couples weren't married by the end of the year, they started all over again with new partners when the feast was again celebrated on February 14th.

According to another legend, the first valentine ever sent was delivered to the wife of Charles, Duke of Orleans, when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415. That valentine is in the British Museum.

All these legends indicate that "Be my valentine" has been said and written for centuries more than "Merry Christmas". Valentines have been exchanged since the fourteenth century, although they didn't make their appearance in the United States until the mid-nineteenth century.

The golden age of valentines in America was created by Esther Howland, the daughter of a stationer in Worchester, Massachusetts, who graduated from Mount Holyoke in 1847 and returned home to live as a proper Victorian lady. Almost by accident, however, she became a prosperous businesswoman.

On Valentine's Day, a year after Esther's graduation, she received an elegant valentine that delighted her so much she decided to send her own valentines the following year. Her father ordered cut-outs, lace-paper blanks, paper flowers, and stick-ons with expensive envelopes form London. Esther created such stunning valentines that her brother, a salesman for the family firm, showed them to a number of his customers. The valentines were a hit, and he returned home with orders totaling more than $5,000. (A large sum of money back then!)

Impressed with his daughters success, Mr.Howland ordered great quantities of materials and set up a workroom in the home for Esther's valentine factory. She set up an assembly-line procedure employing young ladies to perform the various tasks involved in compiling the valentines.

By 1850, Esther's valentines were the rage of New England, and she became known as the Valentine Queen of America. Her valentines sold for as much as $35.00. Esther reigned as queen until 1870 when the one-of-a-kind valentine was threatened by mass production. In 1881, George C. Whitney bought Esther's business and continued manufacturing lovely and expensive valentines. Although he continued his business until 1942, competition had driven the price of valentines down to as little as a nickel, with none selling for more than $5.00. Today valentines outnumber all other cards bought for special occasions and holidays.

Who receives the most Valentines?

Sweethearts?? Wrong-- Mothers receive three times as many valentines as sweethearts. And if that isn't heart-rending enough, teachers receive more than mothers! In fact, just about everyone receives more valentines than Lovers.

Now that you know why valentines are exchanged on the14th of February, the exchange of valentines this year should be even more fun and meaningful. --Vivian Buchan

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