Valentine’s Day - history and ideas for presents

Valentine’s Day is a day internationally recognised in most countries, especially in the West.

Also know as Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, it is celebrated on 14th February mainly in the West (calendar set by the Western Christian Church) or on 6th July / 30th July in the East (calendar set by the Eastern Christian Churches).  When we were in Japan, I was pretty sure we celebrated it on 14th February together with the Japanese all over! You learn something new every day!

No matter which day it is celebrated, Valentine’s Day is now universally associated with Love, Romanticism and Affection.  However, things were a little different when they started up in Roman times.

Before it became a huge commercial enterprise with flowers at overinflated prices and other gifts donated all over… Valentinus, a roman Christian Gnostic theologian was imprisoned by the Romans for performing weddings for soldiers (who were not allowed to marry).  While in prison – legend has it – that he healed the daughter of his jailer and when sentenced to death his last written words to the young lady were: “from your Valentine’ before his death on 14th February 269!”.  Valentinus was considered a martyr and was eventually given sainthood.

In Roman times the celebration of Valentine’s Day did not have any romantic connotation.

Fast forward a bit and in the Middle Ages, XIV century, when the poet Geoffrey Chaucer started the romantic side of the celebration and the tradition of courtly love started to flourish; Chaucer wrote a poem to celebrate the 1st anniversary of the engagement of Kind Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia (both 15 year old!) with the poem ‘Parlement of Foules’ in 1382 where he mentions “love birds”:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

["For this was on Saint Valentine's Day, when every bird come there to choose his mate"]
(Information obtained from Wikipedia)

By the XV century Valentine’s day had developed into an occasion where lovers gave each other presents to express their love: flowers, confectionery and - greeting cards (that became known as ‘valentines’) – These started to get produced mechanically in great quantities from the XIX century and became recognised as presents fit to declare love to a loved one.  Cupid’s figurines, heart shaped items and even doves are nowadays the most popular images to show love on Valentine’s cards.

The practice of sending a Valentine’s card by post became more popular when in the XX century it became cheaper to buy a stamp, making sending Valentine cards more popular.  The practice of mailing Valentine cards made it easier to send anonymous cards and some began to appear with ‘racy’ verses in the then prudish Victorian’s times.

From the middle of the XX century exchanging cards developed into also giving gifts such as roses and chocolates, packed in heart-shaped boxes and wrapped in red paper.  In the 1980’s the Diamond industry pushed for jewellery to be given to loved ones and in the XXI century - with the advent of the internet – e-valentine cards have become very popular, with more than 15 million being sent every year.

The perception given all around it so make us think Valentine’s Day is a day to be celebrated only if you are part of a couple.  However, years ago an American friend taught me to celebrate the day not only with your ‘romantic loved one’ and to extend the celebration to the rest of your family including your children and close friends.  It certainly puts a different and more social spin on celebrating the day when you do not have that ‘romantic person’ in your life and to make it a day to be positive rather than moping around!  

At Crafts of the World Online we stick with tradition – heart shaped objects – and also by thinking out of the box and offering different ideas for presents to buy your loved ones – being that a lover, a friend or family member - like candles and friendship’s bracelets, all at very affordable prices.  We have a whole section dedicated to Valentine Day, take a look!

At the end of the day, it is the thought that counts and who gave / sent it to us.  Well, that’s my feeling anyway!

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!

Toe Rings

I have been wearing rings on my toes for many years. I suppose I started wearing them as I gradually stopped wearing the ones in my hands as I was gardening more and more and not often practical to wear or if I was wearing them I risked to leave them behind when washing my hands ... therefore wearing something, albeit on my feet was a way of sporting some jewellery.
I found the 1^st of my toe-rings on a small street market stall in London. Only a few stalls in a street near Shaftesbury Avenue, which I happened by change on a week day – I don’t even remember why I was there.
I loved it. I am still wearing it. It is a nice band of silver with some a real small motive. I got used to wearing a toe ring pretty quickly and after that summer I decided I wanted to have another one for the other foot. In those days ankle bracelets were very fashionable and you think it would have been easy to find also toe rings... not the case. I happened upon my 2^nd toe ring on one of the stalls of the market in Chancery Lane, we used to get there in our lunch break from the City and one summer I found one, not the best, but decent enough for me to buy it. However it was never very good: the metal, even though was supposed to me silver, would get dark very soon, and eventually snapped in two a few years back.
For a long time I could not find any toe rings and if I found one none that I liked. Until I went to Morocco one summer. In Agadir, I found a shop that sold local crafts at a fix-price and I found my next toe-ring. I bought it and wore it right away to the delight of the shop owner/assistant. As the ring was so comfortable, I decided to buy another one and to try to wear two rings on two different toes on the same foot. It worked; they were comfortable to wear and did not clash with each other causing pain. Before the end of that holiday I had bought several more, which I have given as presents and some form part of the Valentine Day Gift Ideas now.
A few summers ago – in Tunisia – I was looking to replace the toe ring which broke (see above) and I found it in a little shop outside the compound of my hotel in Hammamet. They had quite a few of them and some were really nice. As it happened after a lot of thinking I bought the first one that caught my eye. A little silver band with a small dolphin. I cannot remember the exact meaning of the dolphin for the Tunisian. I have checked it and the dolphin has been used since Greek mythology. Also nowadays is used in tattoos. Here are a links to website where you can read more if interested in the symbolism of the dolphin.

Last summer I met an Irish woman and she too was wearing toe rings. Her rings were really nice and I was interested in knowing where she had got hers. We got chatting and it turned out she wears them all year round. So this year (or rather last) when the first cold days settled in I kept on wearing my toe rings. Went to the swimming pool, wore them with tights (and they did not ladder them) and now I wear them with all sorts of close shoes even my walking boots!! (Although when really cold I prefer to take them off as my toes shrink and the rings are then too big for them!).
What I have learnt over the years and with the experience of wearing toe rings, is that toe rings to be comfortable have to be in real silver, have an opening – which allows you to place it over the large bits of your toes and then tightening it to fit the middle, slim bit of the toe – and be fairly solid without excessive protuberances.
Why, you ask? Feet get a lot of battering and any jewellery has to be strong enough to sustain the pressure the foot applies on ground, shoes and so forth.
Silver is easy to clean, doesn’t wear off and therefore your rings will always look the best. You want to be able to see them when you look down to your feet... vanity??

I prefer mine not to have any big protuberances or stones as rings do turn from time to time, especially if cooler and your foot shrinks a little, and there is nothing worse or more painful than a sharp bit in between two toes – think of a ring with a stone and having a handshake that is very hard and squeeze your hand. Painful! Imagine the little toe in a similar situation (I am not saying someone is going to give you a foot shake!)
As I was saying I haven’t found very easy to buy toe rings. One summer the Tunisians – crafty people! – upon my inquiring would take me around to their shop only to be shown normal finger rings... they think they are clever:-~

As I was writing this article I have also done a little research and found that toe rings are a relatively new item of accessories used in the western world (that explains it!) and usually only one ring is worn on a single foot. However in India (I have not been there yet) it is something associated with a bride and they wear matching ones on each foot. Click here should you want to read more about it.

If you would like to purchase a toe ring, click on the link or go to www.craftsoftheworldonline.com and contact us.

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is a day internationally recognised in most countries, especially in the West.  Also know as Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, it is celebrated on 14^th February mainly in the West (calendar set by the Western Christian Church) or on 6^th July / 30^th July in the East (calendar set by the Eastern Christian Churches).  This makes me think you learn something new every day (I am sure we celebrated it on 14th February when we were in Japan together with the Japanese all over!)!!??

No matter which day it is celebrated around the world, Valentine’s Day is now universally associated with Love, Romanticism and Affection.  However, things were a little different when they started up in Roman times.

Before it became a huge commercial enterprise with flowers at overinflated prices and other gifts donated all over… Valentinus, a roman Christian Gnostic theologian was imprisoned by the Romans for performing weddings for soldiers (who were not allowed to marry).  While in prison – legend has it – that he healed the daughter of his jailer and when sentenced to death his last written words to the young lady were: ‘from your Valentine’ before his death on 14^th February 269.  Valentinus was considered a martyr and was eventually given sainthood. 

In Roman times the celebration of Valentine’s Day did not have any romantic connotation.  Fast forward a bit and in the Middle Ages, XIV century, when the poet Geoffrey Chaucer started the romantic side of the celebration and the tradition of courtly love started to flourish Chaucer wrote a poem to celebrate the 1^st anniversary of the engagement of Kind Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia (both 15 year old!) with the poem Parlement of Foules in 1382 where he mentions “love birds”:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

["For this was on Saint Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate"]
(Information obtained from Wikipedia)

By the XV century Valentine’s day had developed into an occasion where lovers gave each other presents to express their love: flowers, confectionery and - greeting cards (that became known as ‘valentines’) - that from the XIX century started to get produced mechanically in great quantities - were all recognised as presents fit to declare love to a loved one.  Cupids figurines, heart shaped items and even doves are nowadays most popular images on cards to show love on Valentine’s cards.

The practice of sending a Valentine’s card by post became more popular when in the XX century became cheaper the cost of a stamp, making sending Valentine cards more popular.  The practice of mailing Valentine cards made it easier to send anonymous cards and some began to appear with ‘racy’ verses in the then prudish Victorian’s times.

From the middle of the XX century exchanging cards went on to also giving gifts such as roses and chocolates, packed in heart-shaped boxes and wrapped in red paper.  In the 1980’s the Diamond industry pushed for jewellery to be given to loved ones and in the XXI century - with the advent of the internet – e-valentine cards have become very popular, with more than 15 million being sent every year.

Usually we think Valentine’s Day is a day to be celebrated only if you are part of a couple.  Years ago I learnt from an American friend to celebrate the day with your ‘romantic loved one’ and to extend the celebration to the rest of the family including your children and close friends.  It certainly puts a different and more social spin on celebrating the day when you do not have that ‘romantic loved one’ and make it a day to be positive rather than try to delete it from your thoughts and diary! 

 

At Crafts of the World Online we remember to celebrate the day by sticking with tradition – heart shaped objects – and also by ‘stepping out of the box’ and offering different ideas to buy for our loved ones – being a lover, a friend or ourselves - like candles and friendship’s bracelets, all at very affordable prices.
At the end of the day, it is the thought that counts and who gave or sent it to us.  Well, that’s my feeling anyway!



Happy St Valentine’s Day to you all! ©