Thursday, February 11, 2016

Valentine's - 18th Century Style

That day of LOVE is coming around again, so I looked into some 18th century information and found the following: 

The Valentine's Day poem can be found in the collection of English nursery rhymes Gammer Gurton's Garland (1784):
The rose is red, the violet's blue,
The honey's sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine:
The lot was cast and then I drew,
And Fortune said it shou'd be you.

Sounds familiar, huh?!

Also, in 1797, "The Young Man's Valentine Writer" was published in England, which held many suggestions for sentimental verse. This was supposed to help out the lovesick, lovelorn, the passionate, the flirtatious, etc. printers had already started producing Valentine stock cards, but there's nothing like a handmade card, with a special, personal greeting.

Personally, I like to receive a personal card, but lately I like to give a Valentine dessert treat. I'm working on that now as a matter of fact, but if it all goes south, I may have to - last minute - resort to an email greeting?? haha
Thank God for the option.

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