Minx, the Magazine - Issue Two, Volume Two

The holiday of Valentine's Day has an interesting beginning. Originally, mid-February was the feast of Lupercalia, a pagan feast honoring the god who watched over crops and herds. Although this custom started before the month of February even existed, it became to be celebrated on or about February 14th. The following day, in later history, was the feast of Juno, goddess of women and marriage. During the festival there would be a lottery in which young men would draw the names of girls from a jar. The girl assigned to each young man in that manner would be his companion for the duration of the festival and sometimes for the entire year, including sexually.

The holiday was later christianized by Pope Gelasius, and named to honor Valentine, a priest who secretly married couples in the third century BC. Emperor Claudius had banned marriage because he apparently thought married men made lousy soldiers. Claudius was not pleased and had Valentine brought before him and tried to convert him to paganism. Valentine, being the romantic he was, instead tried to convert Claudius to Catholicism. This pleased Claudius even less and he had Valentine stoned to death, and beheaded for good measure.

Verses and romantic greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, but in verbal form. Written valentines appeared after 1400. In 1537, Valentines Day was made an official British holiday when King Henry VIII declared that February 14 was "Saint Valentine's Day" by Royal Charter. It did not become a tradition in America until around the Civil War.

Early valentines were homemade, fashioned by hand of paper, with decoration of watercolor and colored inks, lavished with lace. The first commercial valentines came about in the 1840s, and are credited to a Miss Esther Lowland, who is reputed to have made $5000.00 in her first year of business. That was a lot of money back then!

Most greeting cards in those days were postcards, not the folded notes with envelopes with which we are most familiar today. By the late 1800s, valentines were being made entirely by machine. Now, definitely, machine-made commercial valentines are the most popular. But on occasion, a creative soul will put together a special hand-made valentine for his or her sweetie. I think this should be a more regular occasion, as something made by the hand takes more thought and care than choosing something pre-made.

Another more creative thing to do is to purchase some antique valentine postcards and give them to your sweetie - not only will they be a gesture of your affection, but they are also an interesting piece of history, which might become a fascinating new hobby for him or her.

These images are examples of "penny postcards," so called because they required one cent postage stamps.

It was the rage, during the turn of the century, to collect postcards and keep them out for guests to peruse.

Visiting friends would often spend hours leafing through the albums, admiring the postcards and trade cards on display.

Because of their popularity, manufacturers soon sought to make new and exciting kinds of postcards, to satisfy a consumer audience eager to impress their friends.

Eventually, postcards became more elaborate greetings, many incorporating real photos, hand-tinted, and fancy lithographed images.

Postcard collecting is still popular today. It is fairly easy to find common postcards of the turn of the century, and always a fun challenge to find some of the rarities.