I miss you Sam!!

I miss you Sam!!
I miss you Sam!!

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Some Interesting History for Valentine's Day






The history of Valentine’s Day–and the story of its patron saint–is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?
In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine’s Day greetings.
Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. Howland, known as the “Mother of the Valentine,” made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as “scrap.” Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

So, are you ready to celebrate this old holiday? Let's have some fun for the upcoming weekend!!


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5 comments:

PerthDailyPhoto said...

No time for VDay Sylvia too busy this weekend :) Oh well maybe a little time :)

Lowell said...

I remember in elementary school, everyone was expected to bring a Valentine card for everyone else and we'd buy packets of cheap little cards to pass around. I didn't much care for that.

Hope you V day is a great one. Both Lois and I got good news yesterday re the problems of which you are aware so we're very happy campers!

Jo said...

Hi Sylvia it's my birthday on Friday 13th Feb this year and I've invited all my friends here at home in SA as I'm "home" again. I'll celebrate both days! Hope you're having a great day. Jo

TexWisGirl said...

sent a valentine yesterday. this holiday makes me a bit crazy (and not in a good way). *sigh*

Lois said...

I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day since I made the mistake of getting married on that day when I was young and silly. It didn't work out, so now the day is a reminder of that mistake! Oh well, I do enjoy getting Valentines from my grandkids, so it's not a total wash.

What Can I Say?

What Can I Say?
I'm interested in almost everything. Use to like to travel, but it's too expensive now. I take Tai Chi classes, swim, volunteer in a Jump-start program for pre-schoolers. I'm an avid reader and like nearly everyone these days I follow politics avidly. I'm a former teacher and Special Projects Coordinator for a Telecommunications company, Assistant to the President of a Japanese silicon wafer manufacturing company. Am now enjoying retirement -- most of the time. I have two daughters, one son-in-law and two sons scattered all over the country. No grandchildren.

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