As Massachusetts residents buy their flowers and chocolate, they may not be aware of the role their state played in Valentine’s Day history. Anthony Sammarco, author of “Valentine’s Day Traditions in Boston” explained to hosts Paris Alston and Jeremy Siegel on Morning Edition Monday how Massachusetts became a “Cupid’s Day Mecca” of cards and candy.
The “mother of the valentine card” was Esther Allen Howland, a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, who introduced the European concept of valentines to Worcester in the 1800s.
“So in the 1850s, right through to the early 1880s, she was somebody that would eventually employ both single women and widows that would actually create an assembly line of handmade valentines,” Sammarco said. “So during that period, these were not just beautiful cards, but today they’ve become collector's items.”
Howland sold her business, the New England Valentine Company, in 1881 to George C. Whitney as it expanded and produced all kinds of greeting cards. By 1915, 90 percent of all valentines exchanged in the United States came from Worcester.
“It was something that would eventually be carried on by other publishers ... and of course, Hallmark,” Sammarco said. “But Worcester was a big center for Valentine's Day.”
Sammarco’s book traces the evolution of the holiday from a pagan celebration in ancient Rome to becoming a multimillion-dollar industry. St. Valentine, the saint who gave Valentine’s Day its name, was a Roman priest turned martyr who was beheaded around 270 A.D. for marrying persecuted Christians.
“I’ve always thought of him as the patron saint of love. But in my research, I find out that he’s also the patron saint of epilepsy and the patron saint of beekeepers,” Sammarco said.
It’s not all roses, of course. Sammarco also took a look at “vinegar valentines,” with cruel greetings like “you’ll die alone” to “you think you’ve got a pretty smile, but actually it’s horrible.” In one of Sammarco’s favorites, a woman holds a lemon pointed at her lover, and says “’Tis a lemon that I hand you and bid you now ‘Skidoo.’ Because I love another — There is no chance for you!”
“They were dreadful and cruel, but on the other hand, sent anonymously,” Sammarco said. “It was even more so that we couldn’t figure out who a vinegar valentine was from.”
From Sullivan Square’s Schrafft’s to Necco — New England Confectionery Company — Boston has a rich history of candy-focused companies, too.
“20th-century candy was something for Valentine’s Day that was big business,” Sammarco said. “That’s something that still continues to this day by many chocolatiers in and around Boston.”
When Alston asked Sammarco the most romantic activity to do in Boston, he shared some wise advice. “How about something such as a hot cup of steaming cocoa, a walk through the Public Gardens and then just basically sitting on a bench enjoying not only Boston in all of its finery, but also just sitting there and exploring something with the one we love?”
“It doesn’t have to be flowers or candy, although those things are quite nice,” Sammarco continued. “It’s also sharing some time, not just with our spouse or a love interest, but also our family and friends.”
