This week, we take a look at both cherished and loathed St. Valentine’s Day traditions!
Many mark the day by acknowledging their partners in special ways, while many boycott it altogether in protest of the consumerism it can promote.
Can we not daily cherish our partners or seize a romantic moment as it arises?
In 1951, the Trail Daily Times published an Associated Press piece speaking to the evolution of the day’s traditions and how modern singletons and couples were recognizing it.
The author seems to lament the demise of heartfelt sentiment for the rise of humour. Have a read!
Let’s face it. Men aren’t what they used to be.
But women haven’t changed a bit.
On this St. Valentine’s day, try to imagine a 1951 male with the – uh – poetic spirit to tell his gal:
“I bear in sign of love,
A sparrow in my glove;
And in my breast a dove –
This shall be thine.”
Well, they did it in granddaddy’s time.
The library of congress proved it today, unearthing by request some choice specimens of yesteryear’s valentines.
Compare them with today’s slick, gag-in-every-line jobs and you get a sad, sad comparison – from the viewpoint of any young woman who hoped for three cents worth of old-fashioned sentiment in the morning’s mail.
Today a girl is lucky if she gets a dime-store card with some such heart-stirring message as:
“Your eyes are crossed, your knees are knocked.
I kind of like you when I’m crocked.”
Ah, but in grandfather’s time…men wrote their own then, or at least copied them from the cupid’s little helper books that had a terrific sale. Here’s a ripe sample:
“Your lips are bright twin corals;
Your teeth are fairest pearls.
Your eyes are sister sapphires;
And golden rings your curls.”
And the women? What were they doing while their men-folk spun such gossamer rhymes? Oh, they were up to the age old sport of sticking hatpins into the male ego.
Here’s one girl’s tender reply (ca. 1867) to a poor guy who proposed to her by valentine:
“You’re very kind and thoughtful.
And, believe me, so am I.
For if I should ever marry you,
I surely hope you’d die.”
Is Valentine’s Day a tradition in your relationship?
Or has is changed over time? Share your thoughts with us!
Sarah Benson-Lord manages the Trail Museum and Archives and Visitor Centre.
