In 1878, The Book of Days stated that "Valentine's Day is now almost everywhere a much degenerated festival, the only observance of any note consisting merely of the sending of jocular anonymous letters to parties whom one wishes to quiz, and this confined very much to the humbler classes. The approach of the day is now heralded by the appearance in the printsellers' shop windows of vast numbers of missives calculated for use on this occasion, each generally consisting of a single sheet of post paper, on the first page of which is seen some ridiculous coloured caricature of the male or female figure, with a few burlesque verses below." Sounds like the same cards to be found today.
Valentine's Day had amounted to something more in years prior to this account, which the authors acknowledged. In the early 1700's, a festival was held on Valentine's Eve in which the "maids and bachelors" wrote their own names on tickets, which they rolled up so that a young person of the opposite gender could draw a name. That, then, was that person's valentine. (Actually, this left people with two valentines, but the one the man draws was apparently considered more important.) One would give treats to his or her valentine, and wear his or her ticket upon his or her clothing for a few days.
In a record of domestic life of England during the reign of Charles II (1660 - 1685), it is recorded that both married and single people were subject to being drawn as someone's valentine. In addition, the person drawn had to give a present to the person drawing his or her name. These presents were not necessarily minor, either, considering that the well-to-do also participated. For example, of the lady who later became the Duchess of Richmond it is said that "the Duke of York, being once her valentine, did give her a jewel of about £800; and my Lord Mandeville, her valentine this year, a ring of about £300."
Valentine was a priest in Rome who was martyred in the third century, and appears to have had no connection with the celebrations on his day. Rather, the ancient Romans celebrated the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of Pan and Juno, during February. Among other festivities, young women's names were put into a box from which the young men drew. Since St. Valentine's Day was in mid-February, his day was appropriated as a Christian replacement for the pagan Lupercalia, retaining some of the same traditions. (The old switcheroo.)
From The Book of Days, A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the Calendar Including Anecdote, Biography, & History, Curiosities of Literature and Oddities of Human Life and Character. (Edited by Robert Chambers, published in 1878 by W & R Chambers, Ltd., London & Edinburgh.)
