By Carolyn Haswell
Northside News
As we enter into the season of early spring (it’s coming!), welcoming holidays such as Groundhog Day, St. Patrick’s Day and the like, some may wince whilst others are in glee for the holiday of love — St. Valentine’s Day. There is quite the interesting history of this holiday, and a murky and confusing one at that.
There are theories ranging from which Saint Valentine the holiday refers to, to whether this is a rebranded Pagan celebration (Lupercalia). But who wants to hear of sacrifices or dramatic tales of yore? Okay, maybe I, or even you, do.
But! We must not forget that there is a large group of our fellow man who despises a day dedicated to love. So, let’s talk of the sometimes-forgotten Vinegar Valentine. These were cards sent out not to your special sweetheart but to unwanted suiters, the local drunk, show-offs, bad doctors, or even someone you just flat out hated. These saucy cards could range from telling the receiver to get lost, you’re ugly/unmarriable, or your profession is lousy, to things like you’re too focused on receiving the right to vote (suffragettes) or to jump off a roof — all while rhyming, respectfully.
These cards are thought to have been invented around the 1830’s-40’s alongside the wider availability for printing and fancier paper production, but some argue that people handmade these cards before the printer’s did. By the 1850’s both the English and Americans had much wider access to these cards.
Now, one would like to hope that our ancestors were above all this spite, but it is thought that of the millions of cards sent, some of them were telling you that you’re an ignorant lout!
The next time you are looking at cards in an antique store however, don’t hold your breath on finding one. These cards tended to be tossed out as quickly as someone got them, or even worse, thrown out by the post itself. This is believed to be the reason they fell out of favor: too many complaints.
The next time you receive a hate comment online, remind yourself of the age of the Vinegar Valentine. Similar to our modern era, these were usually anonymous, and sometimes the sender didn’t even foot the bill for its cost. That’s right, you paid for the right to read that you’re smelly.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
