St. Valentine heals an epileptic.

No one knows when the first Valentine’s Day was celebrated.  Saint Valentine lived in 3rd Century Rome and provided care to persecuted Christians before being martyred by Emperor Claudius II.  Valentine is the patron saint of Terni, epilepsy, and beekeepers.  How his feast day became associated with the celebration of courtly love, no one is sure.  References to Valentine’s Day as a romantic holiday can be found in the works of both Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare.

No one knows when the first Valentine’s Day card was sent but, by the time of the Victorian era, they were a part of the tradition.  Here is a beautiful Valentine’s Card from the 1890s, with a romantic scene of courtship and a paper lace design.  Sold in London, this would have been an expensive card that would have been sent by a member of the upper classes.

However, during the Victoria era, there were also what was known as the Vinegar Valentine Cards.  These were cards that were sent to let someone know that they were either not loved or that the person they thought they love was not worthy of them.  These cards were often sent and left anonymously.  Can you imagine the feeling on Valentine’s Day of not knowing whether you’re going to get a card like the one above or a card like the one below?

That’s one Valentine’s tradition that I’m glad we no longer have to deal with!