Monday, February 14, 2011

Celebat* (for Celebrat*)

Valentine’s Day is often dismissed by some (including myself) as a Hallmark Holiday – a holiday recently pushed on us by greeting card companies and other businesses to generate sales. However, it has actually been a celebration of romance since the 14th century, and it has its roots in even older rites, like the Roman fertility festival Lupercalia.

Formal written valentines have been given out since the 1500s, and mass-produced Valentine’s cards, decorated with hearts and images of Cupid, became popular in the late 1700s.

Celebat* is a moderate probability typo on the Ballard List, with 11 hits in OhioLink and over 90 in Worldcat. Watch out as well for celbrat* and other potential misspellings.

(Victorian Valentine's Day card image from Wikipedia.)

Leanne Olson

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