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Show ifjo the Times-Independe- nt Valentines Day Supplement Page 2 Earliest record of Valentines Day is traced to 12th century to draw names. For several days, each man wore his valentines name on his sleeve. The old saying wearing his heart on his sleeve most likely originated with this practice. Throughout the years the romantic mysticism of Valentines Day has ebbed, but its essence lives on in a new era of television dating games and Internet love affairs. Love through the ages ... The earliest record of Valentines Day in English can be traced back to Geoffrey Chaucer, famed author of the 12,h century. In The Parliament of Fou ls, Chaucer wrote that birds chose their mates on that day. William Shakespeare mentioned this belief as well in A Midsummer Nights Dream. The last half of February also shows signs of spring, a season long thought to be a time for paramours. In 1415, the Frenchman Charles, Duke of Orleans was captured by the British in the Battle of Agincourt and imprisoned in England. On Valentines Day, he sent his wife a rhymed love letter from his cell in the Tower of London. Many early Valentines Day customs involved ways that single women could learn who their future husbands would be. As early as 1603, the year that Hamlet was published mentioned the following tradition which some unmarried women in Britain and Italy would get up before sunrise on Valentines Day. They would stand by the window watching for a man to pass. It was believed that the first man they saw, or someone who looked like him, would marry them within the year. Some women still practice this custom. Englishwomen of the 1700s wrote mens names on scraps of paper, rolled each in a little piece of clay, and dropped them all into a tub of water. The first paper that rose to the surface supposedly bore the name of the womans true love. Also in the 1700s, unmarried women pinned five bay leaves to their pillows on the eve ofValentines Day. They would pin one leaf to the center of the pillow and one to each corner. If the charm worked, they saw Courting Rituals in 1900 Versus Courting Rituals in 2000 How has the mating game changed over the past 100 years? Dramatically! The folks at Fannie May Candies were eager to find the differences, since their boxed chocolates have played such an important role in the lives of young couples since 1920, when the company was founded. 1900: The courting call was a complicated event. One had to observe the appropriate amount of time between invitation and actual visit. 2000: Maybe Roses and candlelight, symbols of the holiday. Ill drop by later." 1900: The first courtship calls must be made with dreams. in future their their husband Women werent the only ones who used such the girls mother present at all times. It was appromethods to divine their beloved. One of the oldest priate to bring a small gift of chocolates or a boucustoms was the practice of writing women's names quet of posies for the daughter. 2000: Savvy guys on slips of paper and drawing them from a jar. The know to bring Mom and girlfriend each a box of woman whose name was drawn became his their favorite chocolates. 1900: It was extremely important to conduct a valentine, the object of his amorous attention. friends would of the 1700s, groups During gather 00125! Hr" f) Give Your Sweetheart a Gift Certificate' for Valentine's Day Sweetheart Special 2 for 1 dinners on We have something for everyone ! Valentine's Day, Feb. 14 2 Sports Enthusiasts Animal Lovers Garden Growers Steak Dinners. Chicken-Frie- d $14.99 includes soup or tiled, Canyon Campers dinner roll, beverage, ice cretin dessert "v Open 6 in diily ' ,? , SHOP AT HOME! 2S9-40C- V 6 , 189 S. Mein . Miller's Shopping Moib 702. S- - Open HOME or HIE EEST GFXEINJ CIIHI L UTAID Mon-Sa- 959-573- 1 Center. Main t., 9-- 6 |