Valentine's Day

	Modern Era (1946 - present)

St. Valentine's Day window display, 1948

This St. Valentine's Day window in New York in 1948 is a typical display of what is available to buy for loved ones

Listen to:
The performers have a good time monkeying around with this song, "The Aba Daba Honeymoon." Do you know it?

RealAudio (streaming)

Wav Format (8.3 MB)

Help With Audio

Credits

Valentine's Day
February 14
The romance we associate with Valentine's Day may spring from the medieval belief that birds select their mates on February 14th. During the Middle Ages, human lovebirds recited verse or prose to one another in honor of the day. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" wrote William Shakespeare. And poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning expressed love this way:

How do I love thee; let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach. . .

Do you write poetry? We also hear these sentiments in love songs, such as this funny old tune, "Aba Daba Honeymoon." How many love songs can you think of that could send your message on Valentine's Day?

page 2 of 3

Library Of Congress | Legal Notices | Privacy | Site Map | Contact Us

CREDIT: Gottscho-Schleisner, Inc., photographer. "Schrafft's, 58th Street and Madison Avenue, New York City. St. Valentine's Day Window." February 1, 1948. Architecture and Interior Design for 20th Century America: Photographs by Samuel Gottscho and William Schleisner, 1935-1955, American Memory collections, Library of Congress.
AUDIO CREDIT: Collins, Arthur and Byron G. Harlan, performers. "The Aba Daba Honeymoon. "Fields and Donovan, words and music. Edison Manufacturing Co., circa 1914. Inventing Entertainment: The Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies, American Memory collections, Library of Congress.