(b) If Candlemas Day be fine and clear,
Corn and fruits will then be dear.
(There'll be twa winters in the year.)
ST. VALENTINE'S DAY (February 14th).—Like so many of our old observances, the festival of St. Valentine dates from the time of the Romans, but the Church rechristened the custom and called it after one or two saints of the name, both of whom were martyred, one in the third and the other in the fourth century.
Latterly, the day has been dedicated to Cupid by fond lovers who believe it to be the date on which each bird chooses its mate.
The poet Drayton sings:—
Each little bird this tide
Doth choose her loved peer,
Which constantly abide
In wedlock all the year.