MAKING AN AUTHENTIC CIVIL WAR ERA VALENTINE by Marisa Masterson

 

Executed! Martyred! 

Valentine who lent his name to our holiday of love and romance actually was executed on February 14th in 270 AD. This saint exemplified love to others around him, including during his time in prison. 

But is his selflessness an explanation for why we view February 14th as a day for romance? This needs to be examined further...

The famous Medival author Chaucer published a poem about love that referred to the day when Valentine was remembered. That is perhaps the first time the religious date becomes secularized. Not much else is available to explain why we do not remember the 14th as a religious holiday.

I have found, after researching, that Valentine's Day cards for sweethearts became very popular by the 1840s, but mostly in England. Lovely examples of these pre-Civil War cards can still be found. 

The one above is an example of the cards common during the American Civil War. A woman named Esther Howland made card giving so popular during this terrible war.

After seeing an English Valentine's card, Howland decided to make her own. She created samples and convinced her brother to take them with him when he visited customers to sell them goods from the family's stationery company. He returned from his first trip with $5,000 worth of orders! 

Americans wanted those cards! The Valentine's Day commerical boom was started! She had to enlist friends who sat around her kitchen table and created the lace-trimmed cards. They followed her special instructions on making a card and you can as well. 

I found those instructions in a Smithsonian Magazine article, and I am including the link here--https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-make-authentic-civil-war-valentine-180962090/.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Coming next week! A special offer for Valentine's Day--

I have a special for you in honor of the day. All 3 of my books in this series are 99 cents each for a limited time.

Dial X for Xhileration

https://books2read.com/u/bw9z0v

Empty-nester gone wild! Why should a handicap stop this thirty-something heroine?

Dial A for Attraction

https://books2read.com/u/3y9o0e

Rosella doesn't trust men or God. Kyle determines to change that in this sweet contemporary romance.

Dial C for Christmas

https://books2read.com/u/49apAk

For Reese, it’s love at first sight. As far as Calliope is concerned, it’s one more risk that she’s afraid to take. Can he build her confidence enough to accept his love?