TRIVIA BITS

 

· Alexander Graham Bell applied for his patent on the telephone, on the Valentine's Day, 1876.

· During Medieval times, girls ate unusual foods on St. Valentine's Day to have a dream of their future husband.

· February 15th was the date of the Roman festival of Lupercalia - where young men held a lottery to decide which girl would be theirs.

· In England, the Romans, who had taken over the country, had introduced a pagan fertility festival held every February 14. After the Romans left England, Pope Gelsius, who established St. Valentine's Day as a celebration of love in 496 A.D abolished the pagan ritual.

· In the middle Ages, people believed that the first unmarried person of the opposite sex you met on the morning of St. Valentine's Day would become your spouse.

· In the middle of the 17th century even married people took a Valentine - not always their legal other half!

· In Wales, love spoons of wood were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes formed the favourite theme of decorations on the spoons, which together symbolized- "You unlock my heart!"

· It wasn't until 1537 that St. Valentine's Day was declared an official holiday. England's King Henry VIII declared February 14th a holiday in 1537 for the first time.

· Some people believed that if a woman saw a robin-flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor and if she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a very rich person.

· The Taj Mahal at Agra, India is perhaps the most splendid gift of love. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beautiful wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Work on the Taj began in 1634 and continued for almost 22 years. It took the labour of 20,000 workers from all over India and Central Asia.