A special day for romance

Press, 9 February 1982, Page 14

A special day for romance

Who was St Valentine? It seems that there were actually two Saints Valentine

— both of whom were martyred by the Romans for the Christian beliefs.

Although the saints were not executed in the same year, they both died on February 14, and the coincidence was strong enough for this day to be remembered by the name — St Valentine.

It just so happened that this particular day had, since pagan times, also had special romantic connections.

So somehow people forgot who St Valentine really was, but over many generations he came to be regarded as the friend and patron saint of those in love, who continued to celebrate 'their romance on February 14. In the past, St Valentine’s

Day was sometimes a very serious business — often leading to marriage. Sometimes it was regarded as a kind of game. Many people believed that the first man seen by a woman on February 14 must be her Valentine, whether she liked him or not.

In the 1600 s, it was usual for married, as well as unmarried women, to have and to be Valentines, and to be given expensive presents.

The first Valentine card that we know of is dated 1477 — and it is probably the first greeting card of all. But it wasn’t until the eighteenth century that the Valentine card we know today came into being. At about the same time, the expensive gifts of earlier years went out of fashion.

The Valentine card began to be produced in large numbers in the nineteenth century. By 1840 these cards were beautiful. The materials used were of the finest quality, rice paper, ribbon, velvet and satin.

The Valentine card then lost much of its popularity until, the 19205.

But by the 19305, the card had become popular in the United States of America, as well as in the United Kingdom.

In New Zealand people began to be really interested in Valentine’s Day about five years ago. But the secret of the Valentine is that the card is never signed, so the receiver simply has to try and guess who the sender is.