Valentine Calligraphy

St Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate romance, and is marked every year on February 14^th.  People traditionally give each other cards, chocolates, flowers, and gifts to express their love for each other and giving valentines day presents. 

A Quick History about St Valentines

The tradition dates back to early Christianity, when three Catholic saints were martyred on 14 February, although this is shrouded in history.  It was said that one of the saints performed forbidden Christian weddings for soldiers.   Emperor Claudius II didn't want Roman men to marry during wartime although there is many legends surrounding St Valentine’s Day.

A Few Modern Facts about St Valentine’s Day

St Valentine’s was marked as a holiday in 1537

The first Valentine’s card was produced in 1913

Cadbury’s manufactured the first heart shaped chocolate box in 1822

In Victorian times, it was said that it was bad luck to sign a Valentines card

Many people give Valentines cards to their beloved pets

The term ‘Wearing your heart on your sleeve’ came from the Middle Ages when men and women would write names and pinned them to their sleeve for about a week      is more than just a phrase. In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names to see who their Valentine would be and to express their true feelings.  

Writing Romantic Messages on Valentine’s Day for him or her

Writing a simple, but loving message to your beloved in your own calligraphy handwriting can make an extra special and personal touch to your Valentines card.

Here are some simple demonstrations about how to write valentines messages using an easy calligraphy style for cards and gift tags on Valentine’s Day.

You can use this style for writing your card, using a black calligraphy felt-tippen or a biro if you prefer.

Be careful when choosing gift cards, as some of the paper can be quite shiny and smooth, and can smudge your work.  Other paper can act like blotting paper and may cause the ink to bleed between the fibres of the paper.  Try to pick a card that is smooth but not shiny.  Practice your work before you finally write your message in the gift card.  It is a good idea to map your work in faint pencil marks before writing your work in calligraphy pen.

You can practice drawing some love hearts, flowers and other illustrations around your work to bring out your calligraphy writing and introduce some color.

You can hand write your messages in calligraphy styles for other occasions, such as Easter, Christmas, birthdays, weddings and many other special events.  You can also put your calligraphy practice into use for gift tags too.