Valentine's Day generated this editorial in the North Otago Timeson 14 February 1876. It suggests that the exchange of commercially produced Valentine's Day cards was already well established in the colony by the 1870s. The custom of young women and men choosing a valentine, or a special loving friend, on a particular day in February was linked to the name of an early Christian martyr, Valentine. Valentine's Day was incorporated into the rituals of courtly love in the 14th and 15th centuries, and flourished again in the 19th century, when commercial printing of cards democratised the celebration of Valentine's Day. The practice of sending a card (ideally anonymously) to someone you love, inviting them to be your valentine, was brought to New Zealand by British settlers.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past
Reference: North Otago Times, 14 February, 1876, p. 2
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