Friday 13 February 2009

Valentine's Day .....

Kathryn, the inspired leader of the Soul Journal Group, has arranged a Valentine's Day party ....
The day was originally a Saint's Day, particularly named after two Valentines - Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni but the day as we know it now, only really started in Victorian times, when handwritten love notes were exchanged.
Today, it is a booming industry. According to the U.S. Greeting Card Association, approximately one billion Valentine cards are ent each year - second only to Christmas.
And apparently, men spend twice as much money as women - lol.

I was in the car park next to where I work this afternoon, gossiping, as you do - lol, and three chaps walked past carying beautiful bouquets of flowers. I just couldn't resist saying 'Oh you shouldn't have', and all of them looked a tad sheepish and said that they would be in dead trouble if they didn't arrive home with flowers - lol. On the way home from work, in the laybys on either side of a busy dual carriageway, flower stalls had been set up by 'enterprising young men' selling a dozen red roses for £15 - it looked like they were making a killing - lol.
Anyways - back to the party ....here are two Valentine's postcards from my small collection ....This one was posted in 1906 in Surrey to Poppy in Bramley from Wilf, with all his love for ever ......
On the back of this one is written - 'With Grandma's Love' .....
As a final thought - how about this tradition in South Korea - women give chocolates to men on 14th February and men give non-chocolate candy to women on March 14th. On April 14th, those who didn't receive anything on either of those days go to a Chinese restaurant to eat black noodles and 'mourn' their single life - how sad is that .....
Whatever you're doing and whoever you are with - Happy Valentine's Day ....

21 comments:

Gail Is This Mutton? said...

I read this week that Penelope Cruz has never received a Valentine. Maybe it was never big in Spain.....I loved your postcards! Happy Valentine's Day Sue

A tired retired recluse @ Swallowcliffs.blogspot.com/ said...

Oh, the old valentines are great! Thanks for sharing!

Christy said...

The post cards are lovely. The tail of the celebration in South Korea is fascinating except why do the women get non-chocolate candy? sigh :)

Sarah Whitmire said...

Happy Valentines day! Beautiful postcards. :)


*SOUL HUGS*

Sarah

Mary S. Hunt said...

happy valentines day
thanksfor the insights
lovely vintage cards!

di from di-did-it said...

I really like how your beeswax TGIF turned out!
Happy Valentine's Day!

Kathryn Costa said...

Although I don't have any gentleman callers, I feel so blessed with all of my blog friends - I will not be eating black noodles later this spring. {wink, wink}

Hey it may be a singles way of meeting other singles by having a nation wide singles date night of going out for black noodles. Hmmmm are their matchmakers in the wings of each eating establishment? {I think I'm getting tired from all of this partying.}

Thanks for coming out to play!

Happy Valentine's Day.
{soul hugs}
k

bethbbk said...

Black noodles??? :( Sooo thankful I don't have to do that this year. Thanks for the history lesson that goes along with the holiday. Best to you today -
Beth

Caryn Lynn said...

Great stories about the history of Valentine's Day. I didn't receive any beautiful flowers this year, but it has been so heartwarming participating in this blog party. Happy Valentine's Day, Caryn

Sandy said...

Your post cards are wonderful! Thank you for sharing them.

Shell said...

Happy Valentine's Day, Sue. I love the vintage cards, so pretty.

Thauna said...

Happy Valentine's Day! I love your postcards! Hope you had a wonderful day full of love.

Anonymous said...

Happy Valentines Day - I too am a fan of vintage postcards

Anonymous said...

Hope you had a good valentines Sue, nothing special here!! Oh cooked, but then he usually does! Love the postcards! :0) xx

Judy H said...

love the old valentines

Lisa said...

The Valentines are beautiful. Your story made me smile. But what is this non-chocolate candiness you speak of? :P

Mrs. Stinky said...

Pretty! Hope you enjoyed your Valentine's day. Sorry I was late.
XOXO,
Heather :)

Anonymous said...

I learnt lots form this post. thanks heaps and the cards are very cute. Somehow we missed valentines day this year ;-(

Anonymous said...

Hello to everyone who stopped by for this Valentine's Party - I hope you all had a good time and were where and with whom you wanted to be.
Whilst St Valentine passed me by - there is no way I am eating black noodles in April - lol

A tired retired recluse @ Swallowcliffs.blogspot.com/ said...

Oh, and one more thing: Thanks for coming over to my blog to visit. It is too much fun to have visitors!

Dawn said...

I enjoyed my visit here... Best Wishes! ;o)