St. Valentine’s Customs: Bonfires

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Matching and Bonfires :

Hautes-Vosges, France: The elders gather the names of eligible people for marriage, match them, and call out their names when passing their houses on the street. If the pair was satisfied, the girl would cook a meal and her valentine would bring wine, and they would attend a dance. If the man did not like her he would desert her and she would stay alone for eight days. On Saturday night she would burn an effigy of him in a bonfire with other unhappy women and scream abuses about him. This was abolished in 1776 by French parliment, and in 1816 fell out of favor. (1, 2)