Tuesday, February 9, 2010

valentine's

via wikipedia

Apparently there are several Catholic Saints known as Valentine and none of their stories has a romantic twist to it. Although one of the stories has evolved to a Catholic Priest who married young couples when Claudius II outlawed marriage in Rome while trying to build up his army.

References to Valentine's day can be found as far back as the 1400's and in the 1600's a reference is found in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

"To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,

All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine."
-Hamlet

The modern tradition of sending Valentines stems from the late 1700's in England. Traditionally they were handwritten and often ornately decorated with lace and other trimmings. Mass produced paper Valentine's came around in the 1800's.


I love this handmade Valentine from Martha Stewart. Although it takes a couple of tries to get the hang of it, it is fairly easy. Apparently this is the style some of some of the earliest Valentine's.

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