When the Birds Choose Their Mates

14 February

Lore and belief

Among the common people it was believed that St Valentine’s Day was the day on which the birds chose their mates, and that something of the same influence lay on young men and women, so that a partner chosen by lot or chance that day was in some degree binding. Chaucer, Drayton and Donne all wrote of the birds pairing on Valentine’s Day, and Gay’s country dame rises at dawn to see who she will meet first in the fields.

There was, it appears, a prevalent notion amongst the common people, that this was the day on which the birds selected their mates.

From Chambers's Book of Days, vol. 1, pp. 256-257; Hone's Every-Day Book, vol. 1, col. 223. Read the original

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Folklore from the old calendars

Drawing Valentines No longer kept England, ScotlandThe old ceremony of St Valentine's Day was a lottery.
Lynn Mart Still kept NorfolkKing's Lynn's great annual mart was granted by Henry VIII to begin the day after Candlemas, and after the change of calendar in 1752 it was proclaimed on Valentine's Day.
Good Morrow, Valentine No longer kept HertfordshireIn many parts of Hertfordshire the poorer children gathered on Valentine's morning and went together to the house of the chief person of the place, who threw wreaths and true lovers' knots to them from a window.
The Valentine Letter-shower Still kept EnglandBy the 1860s the drawing of valentines had given way to sending anonymous letters.
Good Morrow, Valentine at Weston Favell No longer kept NorthamptonshireReviewing John Cole's little history of Weston Favell, near Northampton, in 1827, Hone noted the village's round of customs.
Catching valentines before sunrise No longer kept NorfolkIn Norfolk children tried to catch one another for valentines on St Valentine's morning, and took special care to catch any elderly people in the family who were likely to be generous.
Valentine pence in Oxfordshire No longer kept OxfordshireIn Oxfordshire the children went about on Valentine's Day collecting pence and singing a short rhyme asking each householder for a valentine.
Pope Valentine’s lottery of patrons Lore and belief EnglandDrawing valentines was said to have begun as a lottery among poor clergy for patrons for the coming year.
The apprentices’ egg feast No longer kept EnglandThe Saturday before Shrove Tuesday was the egg feast, and apprentices once kept it as a great holiday.
Eggs on the Saturday before Shrove Sunday No longer kept Northern EnglandEggs were the dish for the Saturday before Shrove Sunday, the first of a run of set foods for the days leading into Lent.
Sweeping the girls No longer kept DerbyshireIn Derbyshire a girl who had not been kissed by Valentine's morning was said to be dusty, and had to be swept with a broom.
Valentine buns at Peterborough No longer kept NorthamptonshireIn Peterborough and the villages of north Northamptonshire, sweet plum buns called Valentine buns were baked for St Valentine's Day.
The first two single people to meet on Valentine’s morning Lore and belief EnglandOn the eve of St Valentine's Day, ordinary people believed that the first two unmarried people to meet on the morning of the feast might well become a pair.
The crocus at the shrine of St Valentine Lore and belief EnglandThe yellow spring crocus was the flower of St Valentine, coming into bloom about his feast.
Valentines on hat and sleeve No longer kept EnglandPaired valentines wore each other's names or favours, he on her hat and she on her sleeve.
Rings, gloves and ribbons for valentines No longer kept EnglandValentines greeted each other with presents of rings, gloves and ribbons, and sealed the match with kisses.
Paying the valentine in Hereford No longer kept HerefordshireMrs Joyce Jefferies of Hereford took care each Valentine's Day to give money to the first man of her acquaintance she met, who counted as her valentine.
Owling on Valentine’s morning No longer kept West CountryBefore daylight on St Valentine's Day three single young men went out with a clap-net to catch an old owl and two sparrows in a neighbouring barn.
Drawing valentines at Fordyce No longer kept BanffshireThe young people of Fordyce drew valentines in February and read their future married lives from them.
Every good goose lays by St Valentine’s Day Lore and belief MontgomeryshireAn old woman of Llandrinio who kept geese by the Severn told Owen that every good goose would lay before St Valentine's Day, and by St Chad's Day, 2 March, every goose good or bad.

When the Birds Choose Their Mates

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