Hippie Chicks Valentine's Day Celebration!

by Jacquie Rogers

It's Valentine's Day! and what do we do?  We give a special gift to people who are special to us. 

Which brings up the

 Hippie Chicks.  ♥

Have you been to their website?  Because they have lots of fun prizes including a $30 gift certificate to Victoria's Secret! Deets at the end of this post.

For now, let's gallop off to the Old West.  For a brief history of the beginning's of Valentine's Day (all three versions), try History.com. 

Valentine's Day cards are the granddaddy of commercial greeting cards.

In America, Valentine's Day greeting cards gained popularity in the 1840s, and grew in common use during the Civil War.  Expensive cards, $100 and up, were sold in New York City in the late 1860s.  Printed commercial Valentine's Day were usually priced for the average person, though, and Valentine's Day cards were more popular than Christmas cards by far.



Wikipedia Commons:
Valentine Card, 1887

 By the 1870s, people began giving flowers and candy along with cards to their special sweetheart.  My guess is that a farmer on the Nebraska prairie might not have the disposal cash to buy an expensive gift for his lady, but since Valentine's Day was so popular, I'm sure he'd find some way to express his love--whether a homemade card or other little trinket.

In cities, lovers gave flowers to their sweethearts.  And, in the language of love, here's what florists of the late 1880s used as a guide:

Gardenia: I love you secretly
Gladiolus: You pierce my heart
Lily-of-the-Valley: Let us make up
Rose: I love you passionately
Sweet William: You are gallant, suave and perfect
Violet: I return your love

Green leaves: Hope for love

Of course, there's always something special going on in the country.  One of my favorite Valentine's Day surprises was when a cow gave birth to a runt calf and my dad gave the calf to me.  Something like that could very well have happened in the Old West, too.  A special foal, new chicks--there's nothing like new life to celebrate love.

And in that spirit, I'm giving away two copies of Much Ado About Marshals, one to a commenter here at Romancing The West, and one at...

Hippie Chicks!

Check out the
Hippie Chick Valentine Contest

where you can win

$30 gift certificate to Victoria's Secret

and

20 Free Books!

Visit the blogs of the participating authors and enter to win even more books!

But before you go, please leave a comment here and you can win a free book. 

Be sure to leave your email address!