KissMeGoodnight.com
Article Series: Valentine's Day
Tips & Ideas For A Romantic Valentine's
Day
The
Valentine's Day Card
No
one really knows how people first got around to giving
gifts and cards on Valentine's Day. Some say it is
connected with the ancient Roman festival in honor of their
god Lupercus. During this festival Roman men used to draw names
of teenage girls from a box and the girl who got picked was
to remain his sexual partner for the period of the festival
or in some cases for the rest of the year.
The
church obviously didn't like such a pagan celebration. But they also realized they couldn't possibly put an end to
such an attractive festival. So they tried to imitate it in
their own way.
Instead of drawing names of girls, now the men got to draw
names of saints and they had to now try and emulate the lifestyle
of those saints for the rest of the year. I'm sure this couldn't
have been as much fun as the Roman version, but it was a start.
And the day, on which this happened was dedicated to the memory
of Saint Valentine, who had laid down his life for getting
couples married secretly against an emperor's orders.
It is said that Charles, the Duke of Orleans wrote love poems
to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London.
Within a century the practice of sending valentine messages
was quite popular.
In the olden days Valentines Day cards weren't the glossy
printed things you can buy at your local store nowadays. They
were handmade cards. The paper used was often colored either
with ink or with watercolors. And there were many clever ways
of writing the messages on them.
There was this 'acrostic' thing where the first letter of
each line spelled out the name of the person for whom the card
was intended. There was also the puzzle purse where a paper
was folded and each fold had a verse written on it. When read
in proper order the verses revealed a Valentine puzzle.
The decorations on each of these cards were also pretty distinctive.
While some were written in the style of medieval illuminated
letters others were done using picture stencils where figures
were used instead of words. There were these Pinprick or Cutout
variations, where the paper was pierced or cut into various
shapes to make the letter attractive.
During the Industrial Age, Valentines Day cards went through
a significant change. Cards were now being made by factory
workers who hand painted on them black and white figures. By
the end of the nineteenth century machines were being used
to make these cards and they were extensively decorated with
gold leaf, satin and lace.
This went on till the end of the twentieth century, when E-cards
began to storm the greetings industry. Within a decade it has
become clear that more E-cards are now being sent compared
to the regular paper cards.
A
few facts about the Valentines Day card are worth being
pointed out. Although the day is celebrated right across the
world the biggest consumer of these cards is the US with over
one billion cards being sent each year. More astounding is
the fact that about 85% of the cards are sent by women. It
indeed seems that the world has come a long way from the days
of the Roman festival of Lupercus when men used to draw women's
name.
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by KissMeGoodnight.com
: 2006
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