Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 February 1898 — Love Lottery Day. [ARTICLE]

Love Lottery Day.

One of the most charming and at the same time plausible versions of, the relation of the modern valentine idea to that devoted Christian martyr, St. Valentine, is the following: The early Christian fathers, in their attempts to conciliate their pagan compatriots, with most commendable tact and insight utilized many of the popular forms of mythological celebrations to commemorate Christian events. One of the festivals, dear to the heart of every Itoman, was the feast of Lupercalia, when they did honor to their gods Pan and Juno, not only with the banquet, dance and drama, but with a peculiar ceremony which provided a billet box into which were dropped slips of paP*r inscribed with the ladies’ names. The bachelors drew out these slips and the ladies whose names were on their papers were henceforth installed as their mistresses for twelve months to command them as best suited their sweet wills. This festival usually occurred in February, and was therefore made use of by the Christians to commemorate the birthday of the martyr, St. Valentine. In time it came to be called Valentine’s Day and retained the love-lottery as its especial feature.