It's Bizzarre...But So Much Fun!!

I just opened my Facebook account and realised that nearly eighty percent of the status updates are soppy/mushy/cheeky/sneaky and some very irritating application-induced Valentine Day messages... I'm no Farmville addict, nor do I believe in gifting fishes or throwing virtual love pillows at my assorted friends list. But then again, not honouring the spirit of Valentines Day also does not feel right... So here are some fun things I discovered on the Net the other day,while I was indulging my trivia curiosity 'WEAR YOUR HEART ON YOUR SLEEVE, WILL YOU?'

Valentine’s Day in Scotland was the festival time when they let unmarried men and women write the names of those they desired on chits of paper and tossed it into a hat. If all went as per plan, the woman got to choose the man she cared for. Once the choices were made, women declared their love by wearing the name of their suitor over their heart while the men wore it on their sleeve – this is said to be how the phrase ‘wearing your heart on your sleeve’ originated.

'I SPY MY HUSBAND'

In Italy, there was a belief in the sixteenth century that if you rise before sunrise on Valentine's Day and perch by the window, the man you first spot walking by before you, could be the one who would end up becoming your husband within the year.

'HOW ABOUT A STUFFED HUMMING BIRD?'

In days long before online dating came into vogue, young men in nineteenth century Australia found courting maidens an uphill task. So every year, they saved up to buy some really fancy present for the lady they fancied. And the gift that could sometime run into hundreds of pounds often consisted of a perfumed satin cushion intricately decorated with a stuffed hummingbird in it. And the lady receiving such a fancy decorated box was indeed the toast of the outback!

LOVE’S VICTORIAN SECRET

Imagine how life would have been in Victorian times - In those days, when unmarried women were strictly taught to hide their emotions in their tightly laced corsets, Valentines Day was anxiously awaited. For young men pining for their Victorian lady love, could subtly send them a secret love message through anonymous cards covered in velvet, lace and satin with a secret panel to scribble their message.

‘NO LUCKY DRAW FOR VALENTINES PLEASE’

The French thought they had hit upon an ingenious idea to pair off unmarried people. On Valentines Day, young men and women could go into houses facing each other and call out for the Valentine they fancied. If young women were spurned, they were given the freedom to light a bonfire and burn the images of the man and vent her ire at him. But it didn’t take long for the French government to realise that it wasn’t wise to encourage such bad blood and allow for public displays of such nastiness, as a result f which a government decree was passed banning such ‘calling out of Valentines’.