Valentine’s Day

Feb 14 2022, 1:02 am in ,

 

Do you send Valentine Cards?

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine’s didn’t begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London.  It is believed that King Henry V hired a writer to compose a valentine to Catherine of Valois.

In Great Britain and America, Valentine’s Day began to be celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, friends and lovers exchanged tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By 1900 printed cards began to replace written notes.

Valentine’s Day is known as a time for people to send love notes. But during the Victorian era and the early 20th century, February 14 was also a day on which the unlucky could receive “vinegar valentines” from their secret haters. For at least a century, Valentine’s Day was used as an excuse to send mean, insulting cards saying things they wouldn’t say to a person face.  

Now people use social media.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

                                                          Rita

   

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