LARNED — The Santa Fe Trail Center is celebrating Valentine’s Day on Tuesday, Feb. 14 with a display dedicated to cards from the mid-20th Century. The pop-up exhibit will be on display through the Valentine’s Day Holiday.

SFTC Director Seth McFarland notes that the exhibit, “Passions in Pawnee – Vintage Valentines” is from a collection donated to the museum last year. It includes both handmade and commercial valentines dating from 1949-1963. “It’s just a great time of year to share them with everyone,” McFarland noted.

The museum is located at 1349 K-156, west of Larned. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Be my Valentine

The first Valentine’s Day messages of the 18th Century in England were handmade affairs as pre-printed cards were not available.

In the mid-19th Century, pre-printed cards traveled across the Atlantic and were originally advertised as a British fashion. Hallmark Cards produced their first Valentine’s card in 1913.

Further commercialization ensued, and today cards have become a backdrop for flower arrangements, jewelry, perfume and, of course, chocolate.

The annual celebration of love is anything but modern.

More history

The history of Valentine’s Day February celebration is rooted in the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia. By the end of the 5th Century, Pope Gelasius I declared Feb. 14 as Valentine’s Day to Christianize the celebration.

Historians debate which St. Valentine this day was initially dedicated to, as two saints share the Feb. 14 feast day. Both saints were martyred in Rome; Valentine of Terni around 197 A.D. and Valentine of Rome around 496 A.D.

By the 15th Century, romantic love became linked to the feast day. In France, lavish banquets with singing and dancing marked the occasion. The Duke of Orleans, imprisoned in the Tower of London following the battle of Agincourt in 1415, wrote to his wife (translated) “I am already sick of love, my very gentle Valentine.” The oldest surviving English Valentine’s letter dates back to 1477.