St. Valentine and The ElaborateVictorian Valentine Cards
It seems the month of hangovers , "Never Agains", and broken resolutions gives way quickly to yet another Festive Day. February 14th St. Valentines Day.
It is rapidly sneaking up on us as the snow melts.
I´m always happy to see the small business man flourish, so if family run florists sell hundreds of roses and more flowers than any other day in Winter, I am truly glad for them
Cards are a different matter. !
Many look very pretty, some are truly romantic, but....... Oh
please spare us the sickly sweet verses inside some cards.
Some are so bad they make me want to start a campaign for "Bring back the Vomitorium!".
Or maybe a warning should be put on the woerst offenders, such as " Reading the verse inside can cause extreme nausea."
Who IS St Valentine anyway?. Did he send romantic cards I wonder? Highly unlikely. According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica there were 2 St Valentines , both Italian, One a Bishop and the other a Priest. Both executed on the same day for remaining loyal to their faith.
No sign of hearts and flowers there, then.
How about the Victorian Era? Ah! The Victorians really helped to put St Valentines day on the map, so to speak.
Boy! Did they know how to make a Valentine Card?. Just how much lace can anyone put on a small piece of card?
The Victorians went to an enormous amount of trouble to make elaborate Valentine cards.
Many had to be placed in a box to be carried. No chance of an envelope dropping through the letter box with the weight on some of these amazing cards.
What I found surprising was that apparently many humurous cards in that era went from the slightly saucy to the downright bawdy.! So much for the prudish image of a Victorian Lady.
I guess it is as well that we are all different. It would be a very boring world if we were all the same. Some cards that have me reaching for the sick bag , would enthrall and bring tears to the eyes of another person.
On Valentine´s day
Oh give me armfuls of bluebells,
From the nearest wood you can find.
I don´t need expensive presents,
Just you, at your best, being kind.
Red Roses are great, if you can afford them,
But bluebells, from childhood, I´ve simply adored them
Only be careful, please, when it comes to a card,
Read the verse carefully, read it hard.
A romantic verse can be beautiful,
but remember the sickly.... sweet
verses that would cause me to
start my campaign, to bring back
that Ancient Antique,
The Vomitorium.......!
