Answers to Christmas Anagram Quiz by Lynne Benton

Happy New Year, everyone!   I hope you all had a really good time over Christmas/winter holiday, and that you've come back fully refreshed.

And for anyone who had a go at my Christmas Anagram quiz, here are the answers.  I hope you enjoyed doing them, and I'm sure most of you will have worked them out by now.  (And yes, to my reader who spotted my mistake: no. 7 was incorrect, having too many a's and only one c.  Sorry, everyone!)

1 Christmas Tree                                        16 Candles

2 Star                                                           17 Angels

3 Reindeer                                                  18 Sprouts

4 Jingle Bells                                              19 Stable

5 Mistletoe                                                  20 Santa Claus

6 Turkey                                                       21 Manger

7 Crackers                                                   22 Snow

8 Carols                                                       23 Shepherds

9 Mince Pies                                               24 Frankincense

10 Stockings                                               25 Mulled Wine

11 Presents                                                  26 Wrapping paper

12 Decorations                                           27 Gold

13 Tinsel                                                     28 Chocolates

14 Oranges                                                 29 Sleigh

15 Myrrh                                                     30 Poinsettia 

And, since this is my last blog for Abba, I also have to say goodbye. Now that I no longer write for children, but have begun writing for adults, I don't feel I can continue to justify my presence on this site, so with some reluctance I've decided to bow out.  However, I will keep reading other people's blogs and sometimes post comments.  There is so much of value here!

Meanwhile I'd like to thank everyone who has read my blogs over the last few years, especially those who have posted comments, and to those who organise it all so efficiently.

And I wish you all, wherever you are, a Happy 2025.  

Website: lynnebenton.com

Christmas Quiz - Anagrams by Lynne Benton

 Hello everyone!  

Here is my annual Christmas Quiz, but this time I decided to do Christmas Anagrams.  So here is a list of things to do with Christmas, all in anagram form.  (Because some of them, especially the short words, are so easy, I’ve given you thirty.)

Enjoy!

1 CARTRIMS THESE                                      16 SLANCED

2 RATS                                                       17 GLEANS

3  DENIERRE                                                18 SUSPORT

4 JELS LEBLING                                             19 BLEAST

5 STOLE TIME                                                20 STALC SAUNA

6 YURTEK                                                      21 GRAMEN

7 AKSCARER                                                   22 OWNS

8 LORCAS                                                      23 DRESS HEPH

9 EPIC MINES                                                  24 NICER SKEFANN

10 KINGS COST                                               25 WILDEN LUME

11 TRESS PEN                                                26 PREPARING PAWP

12 CASTIN RODEO                                         27 MY HINCE

13 SILENT                                                      28 TEACH COOLS

14 GORE SAN                                                 29 SHIGLE

15 RHYMR                                                      30 INSET PATIO

 

Answers in January.

Have a lovely Christmas, everyone!

 

 

Dogs versus Cats by Lynne Benton

For some reason there seems to be a general assumption that anyone who loves dogs is a GOOD EGG, whereas anyone who prefers cats must be a bit ODD.  (This includes a certain American politician who refers sarcastically to “cat ladies”, as if they were somehow beyond the pale!)  

I totally refute this!

I have written several books for children in which dogs play an important role, (indeed, one publisher asked for input from children, many of whom said, “I love this book because it’s about dogs, and I love dogs!”)  However, that doesn’t mean I necessarily prefer them to cats.  Indeed, although when I was a child we had a cat, and then, later, a dog, now, as an adult, I do prefer cats – maybe because the one we had was my first love?  When my own children were small we had two cats, both of which were much loved, but now my children have grown up only one of them has any pets at all.  (Two of them would, I think, have a cat if their circumstances were different)  But my eldest daughter now has both a dog and a cat, though I think she is probably more attached to the dog, who can accompany her on the frequent long walks that they both love.  And her three children are equally fond of both cats and dogs.  So maybe it does depend, to a large extent, on the animal/s you were brought up with.

Anyway, it made me think about the books I’ve read that are specifically about either cats or dogs, and I’ve come up with a few favourites.

The first of these is one from my childhood, which I used to hear on Children’s Hour on the radio, as well as read from the library: Orlando the Marmalade Cat, by Kathleen Hale.  This was the story of Orlando and his family, all of whom I got to know, the more I heard or read.  Following the success of her original book, Kathleen Hale wrote many sequels, of which this is one:

However, another favourite – or series of favourites – from my childhood were Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books, in which the fifth “person” was the dog, Timmy.  I loved reading the books, though in retrospect Timmy seems to have been remarkably well-behaved, and never barked at inopportune moments (which, in my experience, most dogs do!)

Then there were books I read to various classes when I was teaching younger children: Gobbolino, the Witches Cat, by Ursula Moray Williams.  This was the story of a foundling kitten who had no idea he was really a witch’s cat, and the scrapes he got into before discovering his true identity.  It was always hugely popular.

And of course there's the wonderful One Hundred and One Dalmatians, by Dodie Smith, which was popular as a book but has now become even more popular as an animated film by Disney.  Featuring dalmatians Pongo and Mrs Pongo and their 101 dalmatian puppies, who were desired by the wicked Cruella De Ville for their skins, it's the story of how they managed to escape her clutches.

And another cat book for children which I discovered quite recently, “The Cat Whiskerer”, by Cathy Hopkins, which is a lovely story of Tom, a “Cat Whiskerer”, whose magic whiskers could always sense another cat in trouble, and the cats in the neighbourhood whom he helped.

I’m sure there are many, many more, and people will continue to argue about this question, but it’s good to know that people will always want pets, whether cats or dogs, and will insist that their own choice is better. 

Website: lynnebenton.com

If at first you don't succeed... by Lynne Benton

If this blog should sound vaguely familiar, that's because it is: I first wrote, and publshed, it three years ago.  However, there is a reason - or actually, two reasons - for republishing it now.

1) Because I've been too busy finishing my novel to come up with another fresh idea.

and 

2) Because I'm about to start sending said novel out on submission, and this is just the blog I need to remind myself of the golden rule:

If at first you don't succeed, TRY, TRY AGAIN!

All writers get rejections, right?  They are never nice, but we just have to get used to them.  But does getting a rejection from a publisher mean our work is no good?

Not necessarily.

I recently came across a list of famous books which had originally been rejected by publishers, and found it quite fascinating.  For example, how could anyone have decided that Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows wasn’t good enough?

Originally Grahame made up stories of Mole, Ratty, Badger and Toad for his four-year-old son as bedtime stories, but when he took early retirement from his job at the Bank of England, he used these bedtime stories as a basis for The Wind in the Willows.  However, a number of publishers rejected the manuscript before it was finally accepted and published in 1908. 

The public, of course, loved it, and The Wind in the Willows was subsequently listed as one of the Top Ten Books of All Time!

Another book which nearly didn’t make it was Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles.  This was the first of her many crime novels featuring the indomitable Hercule Poirot, inspired by an influx of Belgian refugees into the UK after the First World War.  The manuscript was rejected by two publishers before being accepted by a third, after she’d agreed to making slight changes to the ending.  It was finally published in the US in October 1920, and in the UK in 1921, and this and many of her subsequent Poirot novels have been filmed and televised numerous times.  In fact, David Suchet has filmed every one of the Poirot stories for television.  Imagine if Agatha Christie hadn’t persisted with her first book in the series, maybe  nobody would have ever heard of Hercule Poirot!

Given the difficulties faced by women doing anything outside the home in the early 19^th century, it is good to know that at least Jane Austen’s family believed in her work.  In 1793 her father thought enough of Pride and Prejudice, which she’d read aloud to the family, to ask a publisher if he would like to publish it.  It was, however, firmly rejected by return, and was only published in 1813, after the success of Sense and Sensibility. 

Later, in 1803, her brother Henry offered the ms of Northanger Abbey to Crosby & Company, a London publisher, who paid £10 for the copyright and promised early publication, but did nothing more with it.  In 1809 Jane wrote an angry letter to Richard Crosby, offering him a rewritten version of the novel if needed to secure its immediate publication.  If he didn’t want it, she requested the return of the original so she could find another publisher. Crosby loftily replied that he had not agreed to publish the book by any particular time, or at all, and that she could repurchase the manuscript for the £10 he had paid her brother, and then she could find another publisher. Sadly she couldn’t afford to buy it back until 1816, so it wasn’t finally published, along with Persuasion, until after her death in 1817.

And these are not the only examples of famous books initially rejected.  Who can forget the story of a young orphaned wizard at boarding school, which was rejected several times before a brave publisher took a chance on it…

All of which I find immensely cheering.  The main message seems to be, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again!”  So good luck to all writers out there, keep sending your work out, and just remember those best-sellers which were initially rejected!

Visit my website: www.lynnebenton.com

Summer Quiz Answers by Lynne Benton

 I do hope you enjoyed last month’s quiz.  For those of you who had a go, and even for those who didn't but were interested, here are the answers:

1          Anne Shirley                                    H         L M Montgomery

2          Jemima Puddleduck                         K         Beatrix Potter

3          Tom Long                                         A         Philippa Pearce

4          Lucy Pevensey                                 C          CS Lewis

5          Petrova Fossil                                  D         Noel Streatfeild

6          Jo March                                          P          Louisa May Alcott

7          William Brown                                J          Richmal Crompton

8          Bilbo Baggins                                  N         JRR Tolkein

9          Katy Carr                                         F          Susan Coolidge

10        Tracy Beaker                                   L          Jacqueline Wilson

11         Mary Lennox                                  B         Frances Hodgson Burnett

12        Artemis Fowl                                   Q         Eoin Colfer

13        Percy Jackson                                  O         Rick Riordan

14        Charlie Bucket                                 I           Roald Dahl

15        Mary Poppins                                  S          PL Travers

16        Mr Toad                                           T          Kenneth Graham

17        Cruella de Ville                              M         Dodie Smith

18        Wendy Darling                               E          JM Barrie

19        Alice Liddell                                   R         Lewis Carroll

20       Christopher Robin                           G         AA Milne

Congratulations to everyone who got them all right!  ( know there were one or two tricky ones in there.)

Sorry there’s no further blog today – I’m in the closing stages of finishing my novel, and haven't got time or head-space to come up with something new.  Enjoy the rest of your summer, folks!

Website: lynnebenton.com

The Great Abba Summer Quiz by Lynne Benton

 Since we’re now half-way through July, I realise that most schoolchildren in England will break up in a couple of weeks, so there may be some occasion, especially if it should be raining, when a Quiz about children’s books could come in handy!

Here it is:

All you have to do is find the name of the main character, the letters of which have been reshuffled into alphabetical order (though I give their initials to help) and connect it with the writer of the book in which they appear.  As an example I give you this:

1)      Aehoprrrtty  (HP)    A) J K Rowling

I suspect most people will find this one quite easy: it is, of course, Harry Potter, by J K Rowling. 

Others may be rather more challenging!  And don’t forget, the name of the writer won’t be directly opposite the name of the character, so you’ll have to do a bit of searching.  (Mostly I’ve chosen the main character in their most popular book, but not always – however, the names are likely to be familiar to you, even if you haven’t read the book in which they appear.)

Sounds complicated?  It isn’t really.  Just a bit of a challenge!  May I suggest that you check out the authors first, then think of their most famous characters and see if you can find them by their initials, and then check if all the letters in the alphabetised version of their name match.

 (And of course there’s no law against looking up the writers online to find out about their books…)

Anyway, here is the list

1    Aeehilnnrsy                          (AS)               A) Philippa Pearce

2  Acdddeeijklmmpuu            (JP)                   B) Frances Hodgson Burnett

3  Glmnoot                                (TL)               C) CS Lewis

4  Ceeelnpsuvy                          (LP)               D) Noel Streatfeild

      5  Aefilooprsstv                        (PF)                 E) JM Barrie

      6 Achjmor                                (JM)                F) Susan Coolidge

      7  Abiillmnorww                      (WB)              G) AA Milne  

      8  Abbbggliinos                        (BB)                H) LM Montgomery

      9  Aackrrty                                (KC)               I) Roald Dahl

     10  Aabceekrrty                         (TB)                J) Richmal Crompton

     11  Aelmnnorxy                         (ML)              K) Beatrix Potter

     12  Aefilmorstw                          (AF)              L) Jacqueline Wilson

     13  Accejknoprsy                        (PJ)               M) Dodie Smith

     14  Abcceehilkrtu                       (CB)              N) JRR Tolkein

     15  Aimnoppprsy                        (MP)              O) Rick Riordan

     16  Admort                                  (MT)             P) Louisa May Alcott

     17 Acdeeeillllruv                       (CdV)            Q) Eoin Colfer

     18  Addegilnnrwy                       (WD)            R) Lewis Carroll

     19 Acddeeiillll                            (AL)              S) Kenneth Grahame

     20  Bcehhiinooprrrst                 (CR)                T) PL Travers

 

Good luck!  Answers next month, and have a good holiday, everyone!

Website:lynnebenton.com

 

 

 

Talking to the Author by Lynne Benton

 Recently I attended various sessions in the annual two-week Bath Literary Festival.  I always enjoy choosing which sessions to go to, particularly as the festival often includes some of my favourite authors – those whose books I most enjoy reading.

This year I went to hear seven authors talk about their books, which was great.   I was also able to buy copies of their latest books and queue up to talk to them and ask them to sign my copy.  It is always interesting, and in some cases a real joy, to have a chance to actually speak to a favourite author and tell them how much you enjoy their books.  Some of those I met, I found, were very happy to chat to me too, which was even nicer, and I came away on a high.

I hope they were pleased to find so many people keen to buy their latest book.  As a writer myself, I know how good it feels when someone tells me how much they’ve enjoyed one of my books.  Especially if it’s someone I don’t know.

Of course, this is why School visits are so important if you write for children.  When I was a child, way back in the fifties, I don’t remember ever meeting a writer face to face, though as an avid reader I would have been in seventh heaven if one had come to my school.  Maybe it didn’t occur to anyone in those distant days that this might be an option – or that children needed encouragement to read!  (I certainly didn’t!)  I suppose at that time the one writer who would have guaranteed to set all hearts racing would have been Enid Blyton, before the powers-that-be decided her books might corrupt young minds.  (Not that children agreed!  Whenever I went to the library as a child there were always several children waiting by the B section for the Enid Blytons to be returned so they could take them out.)  So I can just imagine the reaction of the entire school if the great lady had actually come to visit our school and talk to us!

And how wonderful it would have been if your parents had been able to afford to buy one of her books!  That would mean you might actually get to speak to her and ask her to sign it for you!  I’m afraid the cost of a new book would have been beyond most of our parents at the time, so I bore this in mind when I did my last school visit a few years ago.  Before going I had a load of bookmarks printed (with pictures of my books on), which I gave out to all the children.  This meant that as well as signing any books they bought, I could also sign bookmarks, so that every child would have a chance to come and speak to me if they wanted to, if only to tell me their name. They all seemed happy to queue for that too, which was lovely.  Clearly there’s nothing like the personal contact!

These days I suppose the only author who would guarantee the sort of hero-worship Blyton received back then would be JK Rowling, though children nowadays are much more used to reading lots of different books by different authors, and to having them visit their school.  Though I suspect that many of us who do, or have done, author visits to schools will probably have been asked if we know JK Rowling.  Children also, of course, accept that we must be very rich: at that same school visit one child asked me in awed tones, “Are you a multi-millionaire?”  Because of course, as everyone knows, all children’s authors are multi-millionaires, aren’t they? 

However, although that is, unsurprisingly, far from the case, I appreciate that these days when I go to a Literary Festival I can buy a book from a favourite author, and meet her (or him) face to face.  And talk to them.  It is still a great joy.

website: lynnebenton.com

Where do I come from? (part 2) by Lynne Benton

Last month I wrote about the origins of five famous children’s books.  I was fascinated to discover what inspired the writers to come up with such long-lived classics, and I hope some of you were equally interested.

Anyway, as promised, today I want to go on with five more famous children’s books and/or series.

The first of these is Mary Poppins, by P L Travers, published in 1934.

P L Travers’ creation, unlike her screen portrayal, is a “fierce, witchy heroine who imparts the deeper meaning of life to her charges.”  Travers moved among mystics and magicians, such as AE Russell (a writer on mysticism), WB Yeats, (as well as being a poet, he was a devotee of Irish mythology and folklore) and GI Gurdjieff, (a Russian philosopher, mystic and spiritual teacher) from whom she soaked up mythology and esoteric lore.  Mary, blown in on the east wind, is more of a shaman than an Edwardian nanny, able to understand the language of animals and stars and coming “from the Dark where all things have their beginnings”.  So forget Julie Andrews, then!  No wonder Travers was less than enthusiastic about Disney’s interpretation of her books!  (Though no doubt many more children have become attracted to the books purely because they enjoyed the film so much.  And anyone who saw the film "Saving Mr Banks", starring Emma Thompson as P L Travers, will have a little more idea of the origins of the books.)

Next comes The Chronicles of Narnia, by C S Lewis, published in 1950.

In their middle-class Belfast home, Jack Lewis and his elder brother Warnie enjoyed sibling camaraderie in their nursery, presided over by a large wardrobe.  Jack, obsessed by Beatrix Potter’s books, created stories about anthropomorphic animals.  In depressed middle age, Lewis, now an Oxford don, finally found a way through the wardrobe doors to the Christian allegory that lay beyond.  (For a great deal more about all the Narnia books, do read Katherine Langrish’s lovely book “From Spare Oom to War Drobe.”)

And now for three more recent books:

The first of these is The BFG, by Roald Dahl, published in 1982.

He’s bald, nobbly, scary, extremely tall and has a way with words.  He carries off children, at least Sophie, to an unknown land.  He turns out to be warm, funny and protective.  The BFG is Dahl himself, and Sophie his real-life granddaughter.  The land of giants derives from the Norse myths related by Dahl’s Norwegian mother.

Next, as if I could leave it out, is Harry Potter by J.K.Rowling.  The first book in the series of seven, Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone, was published in 1997, and of course, as we all now know, it created a publishing phenomenon.

Rowling says “Harry strolled into my head fully-formed”, though it’s possible to glimpse a touch of Sherlock Holmes about him. She also says that Hermione is a caricature of herself at the age of eleven, and that Ron Weasley resembles a best friend from sixth form.  Her rich vocabulary has classical and mediaeval sources: Dumbledore is Middle English for bumblebee, while Muggles is jazzspeak for marijuana.

And finally, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, published in 2001.

This is described by its author as “Die Hard with fairies”.  The story of the teenage criminal mastermind is also indebted to Hill Street Blues, and also to “all the leprechauns the Irish author has grilled”.

 

And that’s the end of my ten books/series and their origins.  I hope you’ve found it as interesting as I did when I first read about what inspired the writers to write their famous books. 

Website: lynnebenton.com

Where do I come from? (Part 1) by Lynne Benton

This month's blog was originally published in 2021, but there could be some out there who never saw it then who might enjoy reading it now.  And even if you did read it first time round, you might enjoy reading it again.  I hope so, anyway.

While wondering what to write about, I came across a thin book, almost hidden among fatter volumes on my bookshelf, called The Observer Book of Books.  Published in 2008, some of the gems inside are somewhat out of date – but others are still fascinating and totally relevant today.  Although some articles are more concerned with books for adults, this particular item is specifically about children’s books – which inspired this blog.

Where do I come from? concerns the origins of children’s fiction, and tells of the background to several famous books.  Since there are ten in all, I’ve decided to write about five this month and leave the remaining five for next month’s blog.  They are listed in chronological order – at least, in order of the year of their publication.

The first book is one everyone will have heard of and most will have read, possibly many times, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, first published in 1865. 

As most people know, Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) was an Oxford minister who told his original story to, and based its heroine on, his young friend Alice Liddell.  However, what is not quite so well-known is that several real people appear in the story as nonsensical characters, such as Dodgson himself as the Dodo, Disraeli as Bill the Lizard, inventor Theophilus Carter as the Mad Hatter, and artist John Ruskin as the Drawing Master.

The second book is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by Frank L Baum, published in 1900.

This was possibly intended to be more political fable than fantasy, since Baum was sympathetic to the Populists, a socialist alliance of farmers (Scarecrow) and industrial workers (Tin Man).  Both were sent down the Yellow Brick Road (the gold standard) along with the Lion (the natural world), braving the Wicked Witch of the East (Wall Street) to see the Wizard (the president), who was an ordinary man of illusory power.  Baum’s books give over the rule of Oz to the commoners, while Dorothy (folk wisdom) returns to Kansas.  Now, having read all that, I’d rather like to see the film/read the book all over again!

Next comes Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, published in 1902.

Peter sprang from several sources: JM Barrie’s brother, who died at the age of 13 and would therefore never grow up (or “remain a boy forever”), the five Llewelyn Davies boys whom Barrie befriended, and perhaps Barrie himself, who was only 5 feet tall.  Another young pal, six-year-old Margaret Henley, called Barrie “my fwendy”, and became Wendy.  The Roman god Pan gave Peter his surname and mischievous persona.

Following that comes number four: The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, published in 1908.

Grahame invented this tale for his son Alastair.  Blind in one eye and an only child, Alastair was prone to rages (he committed suicide at 21).  Mr Toad’s preposterous behaviour matched Alastair’s, providing a welcome but controllable disruption into the Riverbank’s orderly Edwardians.

And the fifth and final book in this selection is Winnie-the-Pooh, by A A Milne, published in 1924.

The book was modelled on Milne’s son, Christopher Robin, and his toys.  The bear was called Winnie after London Zoo’s Canadian black bear, and Pooh was the name of a swan.  Christopher Milne, who struggled with his legacy (as anyone who saw the film “Goodbye Christopher Robin” will appreciate) later recalled his mother Daphne as the one who invented stories about toy animals.

I found all this information quite fascinating, and I hope you do too.  Five more next month! 

Website: lynnebenton.com

Hope in a Garden by Lynne Benton

 In the spring we start to look for signs of new growth, better weather, new hope.  And where better to look than in a garden?  At the moment in England it’s a treat to see snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils pushing their way into the light, giving us hope that somehow things in this increasingly difficult world might improve.

And in each of the three books I want to mention today it is a garden which signifies hope for the child who finds it.

In the first book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, written in 1865 By Lewis Carroll, Alice has fallen down a rabbit-hole into a strange and rather scary world.  It’s only when she opens a tiny door and sees through it a wonderful garden that she wants more than anything to go through into it.  Unfortunately at that moment she is way too big to go through the door, but she spends the rest of the book trying to make herself the right size to get into the garden.  In her mind it signifies somewhere safe that she can understand.

In the next book, The Secret Garden, written in 1911 by Frances Hodgson Burnett, newly-orphaned Mary Lennox is sent away from her home in the sunshine of India to stay in a big house in Yorkshire with a strange uncle and his formidable housekeeper.  She resents this and is angry and rude, until she discovers a peaceful hidden garden.  It's only then that she begins to realise there could be some hope of a better life here after all.  And when she meets Dickon and her bedridden cousin Colin things definitely start to improve for her, all thanks to the secret garden.

The third book, Tom’s Midnight Garden, written in 1958 by Philippa Pearce, is another story of a child sent away from all that is familiar to a strange place.  Tom resents being sent to stay with an aunt and uncle while his brother has measles, especially when he discovers that his aunt and uncle live in a small flat with no garden, but a tiny back yard where there is nothing to play with and nothing to do.  Then one night, when he hears the grandfather clock in the hall strike thirteen, Tom opens the back door and discovers that the ugly yard has turned into a wonderful garden, and better still there is a girl there to play with.  Her name, she says, is Hatty.  Next morning the garden has disappeared, but the following night when the clock strikes thirteen again, the lovely garden is back, and Hatty is there again, only a little older this time.  And so his stay continues, giving Tom hope that all will be well, for Hatty as well as for himself.

Although there is nearly a hundred years between the first and last of these three books, they all show the lasting fascination a garden can hold for a child, especially one in need of a little hope.

Website: lynnebenton.com

 

Valentine's Day by Lynne Benton

 

 I apologise for repeating the Blog I posted last year - strangely enough, St Valentine's Day always falls on the day of my post, so just in case anyone missed it last year, here it is again!

Since today is Valentine’s Day, I thought I might investigate how the day dedicated to the spirit of romance first came about.

Valentine’s day, also called St. Valentine’s Day, is the day when, traditionally, lovers express their love with greetings and gifts.  One suggestion is that the holiday was inspired by/originated in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was always held in mid-February to celebrate the coming of spring.  Lupercalia, however, was something of a wild celebration, known for its excessive merriment and such distinctive fertility rituals as the lashing of women by men using the hides of sacrificed animals.  At the end of the 5^th century Pope Gelasius 1, perhaps in an effort to end such pagan festivities, inaugurated a feast day to commemorate Valentine on the saint’s execution date.

Valentine’s day wasn’t celebrated as a day of romance until about the fourteenth century, when scholars believe it came about from Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem "The Parlement of Foules", which he wrote in 1380-90, since the earliest letters between lovers referring to St Valentine’s Day began to appear soon after the poem’s publication.

So who was St. Valentine?  There were several Christian martyrs named Valentine, but the day may have been named after a priest who was martyred in around 270 CE by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus.  Valentine, while in prison, allegedly befriended (or in some versions of the story, fell in love with) his jailer’s daughter, whom he also miraculously cured of blindness.  The night before his execution, he is said to have written her a farewell message and signed off with “Your Valentine.”

Or the holiday could have been named after St Valentine of Terni, a bishop,  It is also possible that the two saints were actually one person.  There is another common legend about St Valentine defying the emperor’s orders and marrying couples in secret to spare the husbands from going to war.  This could be why his feast day is associated with love.

Valentines themselves, or messages of love, appeared in the 1500s, and by the late 1700s commercially printed cards were sent between lovers. The first commercial valentines in the United States were printed in the mid-1800s, commonly depicting Cupid, the Roman god of love, along with hearts, traditionally supposed to be the seat of emotion.  Birds too became a symbol of the day, following the belief that the birds’ mating season begins in mid-February.  Traditional gifts include chocolates  and flowers, particularly red roses, a symbol of beauty and love.

The day is popular in the US, where one of the most enduring traditions is the classroom card exchange.  Each year, typically, elementary school children choose a box of valentines featuring their latest favourite superhero, princess, snack or Internet Meme, fill out a card for each of their classmates, and distribute the cards among their peers’ decorated shoeboxes during class time.  While a fun diversion for kids, especially if they persuaded their parents to splurge on cards including stickers or glow sticks, parents have complained about the custom for years, and wonder how a holiday ostensibly meant to celebrate romance was usurped by children.  More importantly, though, they may ask:  why do we give Valentine cards anyway?

 

As well as the UK and the US it is also celebrated in Canada, Australia and other countries including Argentina, France, Mexico and South Korea.  In the Philippines it is the most common wedding anniversary, and mass weddings of hundreds of couples are not uncommon on that date.  The holiday has expanded to expressions of affection among relatives and friends.  Many schoolchildren exchange valentines with one another on this day.  And in February of this year the Indian government appealed to citizens to mark Valentine’s Day this year as “Cow Hug Day” to promote Hindu values, rather than a celebration of romance.

But I think I'd settle for a card.  Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

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