A rather boisterous festival marked the Valentine’s Day celebrations in Scotland during the Middle Ages. Young unmarried men and women, almost equal in number, got together on this day. Each of them then proceeded to write the name of a member of the opposite sex on a piece of paper, which was then rolled up. The pieces of rolled paper were then placed in two hats – one each for the two groups. Each man and woman came forward, turn by turn, and pulled out a piece of paper from their respective hats. The person whose name was written on the paper became the valentine of that particular man or woman.

Interestingly, it was mandatory for the young ladies to be given gifts and to wear the name of their valentine over their heart or on their sleeve! (This is how the famous phrase originated.) Dances and festivities brought the day to an end. By the end of the day, several romances had taken root, leading to marriage in many cases.

Numerous superstitions surrounded Valentine’s Day. It was believed during the Middle Ages that the very first young man or woman that walked by a person in the street or elsewhere would be one’s valentine.

In Scotland, Valentine’s Day gifts were given by both, men and women, in the form of a love-token or a true-love-knot.