Vintage Valentines Day



valentine's autocardSaint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine has been and continues to be celebrated on February 14th in most countries in the world. The concept of this special day being romantic started in Europe during the Middle Ages. By 1700s in England, the idea of expressing one’s love for another with gifts started, usually with the giving of candy and flowers. During the first half of the 1800s in many countries including the United States the practice giving handwritten cards or notes expressing one’s love on Feb. 14th became popular. By the late 1800s and into the 1900s, the industry of mass-produced cards, including postcards became very popular. valentines couple-smoking

Between 1890s into 1960s, cards and postcards of all descriptions and sayings flooded the market every February. Here is just a sampling of some of the varied cards once sent. Go to Google and search for images for vintage Valentine cards to see a greater assortment. valentine-clock

Look up different couples on the family tree and see if any were married either on Feb. 14th or very close to that date — always a popular selection date for a wedding. Next check in your family’s keepsakes and memorabilia, there may be quite a few Valentines waiting to be rediscovered. Valentine-kids

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Valentine-heartbrokenRelated FamilyTree.com genealogy blogs:

Genealogy and Valentine’s Day

“>Surnames and Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day and Love Letters

 

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