Valentines Day Traditions
There are many Valentines day traditions and customs:
- Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry. As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.
- In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week.
- Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on St.
Valentine's Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was:
Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine,
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine.
- The first man an unmarried woman saw on 14th February would be her future husband;
- If the names of all a girl's suitors were written on paper and wrapped in clay and the clay put into water, the piece that rose to the surface first would contain the name of her husband-to-be.
- If a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a rich person.
- In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on 14 February. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, ‘You unlock my heart!’.
- To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.
The traditions of Valentine's Day page.