Valentine's Day in other cultures - 7

In the 1700’s, on the eve of Valentine’s day single women in England used to place/pin five bay leaves, one at each corner of their pillows and one in the center, with the belief that it would bring them dreams of their future husbands. Another variation of this tradition was to sprinkle bay leaves with rosewater and lay them across their pillows saying “Good Valentine, be kind to me, In dreams let me my true love see”. Now mostly considered folklore, this tradition is not widely practiced anymore but can still be seen once in a while.

 Along with traditional Valentine’s Day customs of cards and flowers and romance, the people of Norfolk in the East of England, have a Santa Clause of sorts that goes by the name ‘Jack Valentine’ and sometimes known as Old Father Valentine or even Old Mother Valentine.. This lovable but mysterious character is said to knock at little children’s doors on Valentine’s Eve and sneakily leaves them little treats and small presents. Although it isn’t quite known when or how this tradition got started, it’s still quite popular for generations of parents to continue what their parents had once done for them.