From Your Valentine

Considering the number of ethnic groups that make up the U.S. population, it is not surprising that Americans have a variety of different holidays. From Thanksgiving to Cinco de Mayo, from Chanukah to the Chinese New Year, they are seldom at a loss for a reason to celebrate. Some of these holidays are rather unusual. Some examples follow.

Groundhog Day, February 2:

The groundhog, a small burrowing animal also known as a woodchuck, is supposed to come out of his hole to look for his shadow on this day. As the legend goes, if he fails to see his shadow it means spring has come; if he sees it he returns to his hole to sleep, for winter will continue for another six weeks.

April Fool's Day, April 1:

Don't believe anything you hear on this day of tricks and jokes designed to make you an "April Fool"!

Halloween, October 31:

After dark, children dressed like ghosts and witches go from house to house shouting, "Trick or treat!" The people they visit must fill their bags with candy and other treats or else the children will play tricks on them.

Sadie Hawkins Day, the first Saturday after November 11:

Traditionally, it is the boys who chase the girls, but on Sadie Hawkins Day a girl can keep any boy she can catch.

On February 14 Americans celebrate another unusual holiday, St. Valentine's Day, a special day for lovers. Valentines are cards—usually red and shaped like hearts—with messages of love written on them. Lovers send these cards to each other, often anonymously, on St. Valentine's Day.

The origins of this holiday are uncertain, but according to one legend, it gets its name from a Christian priest named Valentine who lived in Rome during the third century after Christ. His job was to perform marriages. for Christian couples. Unfortunately, the Emperor of Rome, Claudius II, did not allow Christian marriages? so they had to be performed in secret. Eventually Valentine was arrested and put into prison. While in prison he fell in love with the daughter of the prison guard.

After one year, the Emperor offered to release Valentine if he would agree to stop performing these secret marriages. Valentine refused, so the Emperor sentenced him to death. Valentine was executed in 270 A. D. on February 14, the same day the Romans worshiped their goddess of marriage, Juno. Before he was killed, Valentine sent a love letter to the daughter of the prison guard. He signed the letter "from your Valentine." That was the first valentine.

The next valentine was sent in 1415 A.D. Charles, Duke of Orleans sent the valentine to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. His valentine is now on exhibit in the British Museum. The first commercially printed valentines did not appear until 1809. Some of these valentines were not messages of love. Comic valentines, or "penny dreadfuls" as they were called, were often funny and sometimes insulting. The "Golden Age" of valentines began in the 1840s when valentine makers started making elaborate and expensive valentines.

Jonathan King became famous as a publisher of beautiful and unusual valentines in Britain in the 1870s. Esther Howland was the first to publish valentines in the United States, in the 1860s. She created handmade designs for valentines, which cost as much as thirty-five dollars.

Today, millions of Americans send and receive valentines on St. Valentine's Day. Whether it is an expensive heart-shaped box of chocolates from a secret admirer or a simple handmade card from a child, a valentine is a very special message of love.