Valentine’s Day may be a day celebrated by lovers all over the world. But, it is also a day around which superstitions galore existed (and still exist). Want to know some of them? Read on to know the top 10 Valentine’s Day superstitions.

1. Young girls in Great Britain followed several very popular customs on the eve of Valentine’s Day during the 1700s. Eggs with salt would be consumed before sleeping at night, but with the yolks removed. Prior to bed time, a prayer would be said so that she could see her future husband in her dreams: “Good Valentine, be kind to me; In dreams, let me my true love see.” Finally, five bay leaves (which were sprinkled with rose water) would be pinned to their pillows.

2. Again, in Great Britain, women desiring to know the name of their Valentine, would wrap clay balls with scraps of paper on which would be written the names of their sweethearts. The girl would then drop the clay balls into water and wait with bated breath to see which scrap of paper surfaced first. The name of the man written on that piece of paper would be her future husband.

3. In the medieval times, as per an old English custom, people used to greet each other with, ‘Good morning, ’tis St. Valentine’s Day’. The person who benefitted was the one who first managed to call out this greeting. The person greeted would have to reciprocate with a present.

4. According to one tradition was for a young girl to marry the first eligible man she encountered on Valentine’s Day!

5. Another rather macabre tradition required a rather courageous act from a girl who was keen to see what her future spouse would look like. She had to visit a graveyard at midnight on the eve of Saint Valentine’s Day, loudly sing a prescribed chant while running twelve times around the church!

6. Wooden spoons played a huge role in Valentine’s Day in Wales. Carved wooden love spoons used to be given as love tokens and gifts on Valentine’s Day. The decorations meant ‘You unlock my heart!’ The popular motifs were hearts, keys and keyholes.

7. Want to know how the saying ‘wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeves’ originated? Thanks to a very ancient custom – said to date from even earlier than the Middle Ages. On Valentine’s Day, young men would write down the names of young women on slips of paper and keep them in a jar or bowl. Each man would come up to the bowl and pick out a slip of paper and read out the name. The lady whose name was called would then become his valentine and the young man would then ‘wear’ the name on his ‘sleeve’ for one whole week.
8. If a woman spied a robin flying overhead on Valentine’s Day, her future husband would be a sailor. If she saw a sparrow instead, she was destined to marry a poor man, but happiness would be hers. Seeing a goldfinch meant that her husband would be extremely wealthy.

9. A Valentine was chosen by drawing lots in the 14th century. It is believed that the modern-day Valentine’s Day card had its origins in the messages exchanged between these randomly chosen pairs. The couples would then be expected to stroll arm-in-arm around the fire and also exchange gifts. The gifts came to be known as féchenots and féchenottes or Valentines.

10. On Valentine’s Day, young unmarried girls in Britain and Italy would rise before sunrise and stand by the window waiting for a man to pass by. The belief was that she would marry the first man she saw pass by (or at least someone who would closely resemble him) within the year.

Just shows that when it comes to love, humans took help from everyone, including birds and, of course, Luck!