With the 14th February fast approaching I thought i would spend a little time browsing the net to find some old Valentines Traditions........I wonder how many of them you will of heard of?
Hundreds of years ago in the UK, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day. They went singing round their neighbourhood.
One of the verses they sang was:
Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine ---
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine.
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 Scotland valentines gifts were given by both parties in the form of a love-token or a true-love-knot.
In the Middle Ages, young men and women chose names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. Could this be where the saying "wear your heart on your sleeve" comes from?
In some countries, a young woman would receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she kept the gift, it meant she would marry him.
It is also traditionally believed that a girl is able to tell what sort of man she will marry by the first bird she sees on St. Valentine's day.
A Blackbird - Priest, A Robin - Sailor, A Goldfinch (any yellow bird) - a rich man, A Sparrow - Farmer, Any blue bird - a happy man, A Dove - a loving man, A Woodpecker - she will not marry.
If a hen and a cockerel are seen together on this day, it indicates that she will marry during the next year.
Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.
When peeling an apple, try and peel it in one piece from top to bottom, and then throw the peel over your left shoulder. When it lands on the floor look for a shape of a letter - it will be the letter of your future husband
Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have.
If the names of all a girl's suitors were written on paper and wrapped in clay and the clay put into water, the piece that rose to the surface first would contain the name of her husband-to-be.
It's a shame some of these traditions have got lost over time.
When my other half was on away deployment last year I found it really difficult to get UK Forces themed gift items. There were loads of items saying I love my Soldier, Navy Mom etc covered in the Stars and Stripes but nothing with Union Jacks for our troops. For the last couple of months I have been doing some research and found vast amounts of Americanised products but hardly anything for the British Forces so as a result I have just opened a cafe press store with UK themed items for sale. One of my favourite slogans so far is "don't mess with me I raised a Soldier" shown on the T-Shirt to the right. I love the kids bits and have already been asked by my kids to get them a t-shirt each...typical with the My Hero slogan. I'll be working on some Navy and RAF themed items over the next few days and will post some pictures on here when they are ready. I have also decided to donate 10% of all profits from the sale of the items to either Help 4 Heroes or The Forces Children Trust...I'm sure most of you will of heard of H4H and the work they do. The Forces Children’s Trust is a charity devoted to helping children whose father or mother has died, or has sustained life threatening injuries whilst serving as a member of the British Armed Forces.
The largest polished gem that was cut from the stone is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, and at 530.4 carats was the largest polished diamond in the world. That is until the 1985 discovery of the Golden Jubilee Diamond which is 545.67 carats this was also mined at the Premier Mine. Cullinan I is now mounted in the head of the Sceptre of the cross. The second largest gem from the Cullinan stone, Cullinan II or the Lesser Star of Africa, at 317.4 carats, is the fourth largest polished diamond in the world. Both gems are in the Crown Jewels which are housed at the Tower of London.
When peeling an apple, try and peel it in one piece from top to bottom, and then throw the peel over your left shoulder. When it lands on the floor look for a shape of a letter - it will be the letter of your future husband
A belated Happy New Year to everyone! Yet again I have neglected my blogging world, I'm not making any more promises to keep on top of it. I have no new makes at the moment, the shop on-line is having a bit of a revamp and i am working behind the scenes on some new ranges "Family" & "Forces". It's a pretty busy time at the moment as we are in the middle of a house move so my little workspace has all been packed up... :'( I'm missing having a pair of pliers in my hand and beads all over the floor (hubby is happy though...lol). I'm sharing a couple of things I've found from some of my favourite people. I love this Handbag shaped clock from Elibee Gifts, her items are always beautiful....my sister would love these!
