February is right around the corner and with it I always think of Valentine’s Day.  There are a couple of different legends and stories about the beginning of Valentine’s Day, but the one I prefer is the story of Saint Valentine who served as a priest in the temple during  the reign of Emperer Claudius.  Claudius had decreed that no marriages could be performed by the priests so men had to remain single and would be free of family ties to volunteer for his army.  Saint Valentine continued to perform marriages in secret and when Claudius found out he had him jailed.  Saint Valentine was   executed and died on February 14, 269 A.D.  Legend says that on that day Saint Valentine left a note for the jailer’s daughter, who had been nice to him and visited him during his time in jail signed “Love from your Valentine.”  As time passed, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers.  The date was celebrated by sending poems and messages with gifts such as flowers.

Miss Esther Howland is credited with sending the first valentine cards in the United States.  History says the first commercial valentine cards were introduced in the 1800’s.  Some other traditions that I found for Valentine’s Day are:

 In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th.  Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons.  The decoration meant, “You unlock my heart!”

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be.  They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week.  To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.  
 
In keeping with this theme, I would like to share some of my jewelry creations with a heart.

To see descriptions and purchase information for the items previewed here in this post please see Jewelry Info – Posts  page “All Things Heart for Valentine’s Day!”  Click the picture to see a larger version on another page.

You are invited to browse and shop in my stores:   KC Bead Designs and KCBeadDesigns Jewelry and Variety anytime – 24/7.  I hope you subscribe to ”Reflections . . .” and enjoy sharing my passion for artisan jewelry. 

’till next time!

Cheryl Skeens, Jewelry Artist/Designer

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