Show stones stories at about st valentines N U v old and new P glike IKE many another of our christian customs and ob servantes ser vances our festival A of love which we cele brate on february 14 anally was a heathen tes fes cival long before the christian era the romans celebrated the feast of the the joint fes cival of juno and pan on february 15 each year pan was a rustic god formed in similitude of nature whence he was called pan which means all it N vea as feigned by the poets that he struggled with love and was con by him and it became bial that lover conquers all omnia amnia vincit amor juno was the goddess of marriage the of youths and maidens in the year of our lord A D roman youths and maidens still a ere celebrating the at which the names of young women were cast into an urn and drawn by blindfolded men the maid thus drawn was the young marts man s valen tine and the association resul g from this drawing of lots usually last ed for a year the festival ended in an extravagant feast and quite often in scandalous orgies this sort of thing became offensive to the church and pope Ge ordered a change now it so happened that one of the most austere saints in the christian calendar good bishop st valentine had been put to death during the clau dian than persecution on february 14 A D for the simple miracle of opening the blind eyes of his jailer jailers s daughter accordingly the day of the festival was changed to february 14 and the name of the good bishop sub for the old one the names of saints ivere were substituted tor for those of maidens in the public drawings and each youth was enjoined to imitate the virtues of the saint whose name he drew how long the christian youth stood tor for this we have no means of know ing but st valentines name stuck to the day henceforward it seems how ever that in the sixteenth century in france the boys were choosing girls names and the girls boys names so that each bad had two valentines an and d again we find the church interfering this time it was the bishop st fran els cis de sales who endeavored to sup pres this survival oL by the same old device which pope gela gets sius had tried but good st francl francic reckoned with due consideration for human nature the spring of youth and love making which after all exists in christian youth as well as pagan and so tl e young people triumphed ovel this saint and returned by degrees ta to their heathenish practices and cavalier and lady by lot exchanged smiles slid nd silken favors balls and fetes were given in honor of the festal day and in some places the tender bond endured for a year according to the old roman custom een en bt st valentine valentines s day is power less to interrupt the reign of the pic ture postcard and among the prettiest and the most popular of the valentines to be sent out this year are those which bear picture or sentiment or boap both on the reverse side of a postal the effect of nature study in the schools is also reflected in the valen tines aid ai d children are especially fond of the designs in which birds are con jolly little teddy bears con dinue strong favorites and bre r rab bit grotesquely beseeches on bended knees I 1 beff beg you honey let me let me be your bunny it behooves the man woman or child who expects to send out love messages this february 14 to do the shopping at once tor for the valentine trade is not only heavier this year than ever before but it began earlier the middle of january seeing pur chases made while at the more lar book shops orders were viere placed be fore the stock arrived foresighted hostesses making plans for valentine parties made purchases by the dozen and the result has been that many of the novelties have been snapped up before they were unpacked the va nety remaining lemal iema ning ining is a large one how ever for the trade proves to be one of extremes and while the portals are the prime faN favorites orites at least 40 per cent of the business is attracted to the large hand painted valentines of lace paper celluloid and satin teddy bear portals are nice to have but after all there are many children who still cling to the old fashioned idea of a valentine and there are many parents ready to gratify the prefer ence thinking nothing of spending several dollars on the exquisite de signs which represent the old fash toned lace and tinsel valentines in elaborated form butterflies of the celluloid beautifully colored flower designs hearts and cupids make of these valentines really artistic and beautiful creations daintiest of all the valentines though among the most inexpensive are the shape cards quaint little sun bonnet babies and pretty dutch girls being especially fetching the dutch girls resemble water carriers but their jugs are filled with blossoms and in the folds of their full skirts are such sentim sentiments ants as lot lof but me I 1 lot lof but zee or this dainty maiden brings to thee the love which you ve inspired in me sa isi |