If you feel entirely loved and in love, chances are you’ve hit the “love lottery”, where each day is romantic, sweet and special.
Even the greatest lovers of love in the world, the French, will attest love is a lottery. Did you know a popular French Valentine’s Day tradition was the ‘loterie d’amour’, whereby men and women would take turns calling out to one another and pairing off?
And if a man was not satisfied with his match, he simply traded her in for another. But hell hath no fury though like a woman spurned. The rejected women would gather around a bonfire to burn pictures of the men who wronged them while hurling insults at the opposite sex. The flames of passion became so wildly uncontrollable that the French Government doused the tradition altogether.
The French, however, can be credited with leaving lovers worldwide an enduring legacy – the Valentine’s Day card. The tradition originated with French aristocrat, Charles, Duke of Orleans, who sent love letters to his wife while imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415.
The Danish have a humorous take on the Valentine’s Day epistle, the gaekkebrev, a “joking letter”, such as a funny poem or rhyme written on intricately cut paper and signed with anonymous dots. If the recipient can correctly guess the sender, she earns herself an Easter egg later in the year.
Meanwhile, South Africans elevate written declarations of love to a whole new level. Observing an ancient Roman tradition, Lupercalia, the women folk pin the names of their love interest on their sleeves on February 14. This is how some South African men learn of their secret admirers.
If you secretly admire someone, why not make gifting an exquisitely irresistible piece of Secrets jewellery part of your Valentine’s Day tradition? Secrets: for lovers of luxe jewellery that’s eminently affordable.
