LAURA LAPHAM, Arts & Life Editor Emeritus—It is that time of the year again where snow and stress are in the air. Also, I guess love as well. Since Valentine’s Day has just passed us again, this weekend brings forth one of the most loved and hated holidays. However, what led to this holiday of hearts and shades of pink and red?
Valentine’s Day has a convoluted history, but the most recognizable precursor to the modern holiday was not celebrated until the 17th century in England. In the early days it was more common for people to write their own valentines, but there was evidence for printed and commercial valentines being present as well during the 1700s such as the lacy valentines that are a dream of collectors like William M. Janse. However, as he mentions in his book The History of Valentines, there was a difference in the culture around Valentines in 1700s England, since Valentines were not displayed like they are today, but hidden away until they could be safely disposed of.
In The Fashioning of a Modern Holiday: St. Valentine’s Day, 1840- 1870 by Leigh Eric Schmid, the holiday flourished throughout the different classes of society, but the tradition of gift giving started amongst the aristocratic class and European courts that exchanged lavash gifts to each other.
In rural communities, drawing lots and fortune telling about future loves were popular activities as well. Drawing lots meant people drew slips of paper out of a pot to pick their valentine, blessing them with a good omen for possibly being a couple in the future. The names were separated by gender.
There are some traditions that have fallen by the wayside. It was not uncommon for children and young people to go around singing for a small payment or food in exchange like Valentine’s day caroling. Drinking was also a popular activity for the day.
Writing poems and rhymes for a loved one started as mottos and verses to be written and sent and did not develop into more substantial love tokens crafted and cut as elaborate puzzle purses until the late 18th century. These would fall out of fashion in favor of manufactured valentines in the 1860s.
These, however, were the old European or almost exclusively English traditions, the United States did not adopt St. Valentine’s Day until around the 1840s when it became a huge hit. There was some celebration of the tradition before, but not to the scale it would later reach. Printing firms imported valentines from London as printing improved and commercial valentines increased eventually leading to their production in the United States. Large cities such as Philadelphia and New York were where the American version of this holiday took root. Commerce was one of the driving forces that led to the revitalization of this old holiday in America.
Now, Valentine’s Day might be an odd holiday in and of itself, but it is never a bad time to tell someone you care about that you love them, whether it’s with a hand crafted puzzle purse or a card from the CVS down the hill.