Katies, Cupid, and Choir

By M Yeager

It’s that time of year again where couples are going on dates and giving each other flowers and heartfelt gifts. If you have looked around the Coeur de Catherine (CdC) the past few weeks, you may have seen several posters for Pal-entine’s Day Cards that one can fill out at the Residence Life office or a Pal-entine’s Day card making event put on by Social Events and Experiences for Katies (SEEK). For me, this raised the question, “What are some things that St. Kate’s has done to celebrate Valentine's Day in the past?”

A Valentine’s Day graphic included in a February 1986 edition of The Wheel

A Short History of Valentine’s Day at St. Kate’s

In 1939, the Language Arts club organized a Valentine’s Day Ball with a live orchestra. In 1946, The Wheel included a picture of one of the Valentine’s Day Ball attendees and her escort. 1956 was the last mention of a Valentine’s Ball in The Wheel, which was organized by the St. Thomas Players club and held at St. Joseph’s Hall, which is now the CdC. There seems to have been less Valentine’s Day-related events on campus up until 1984. As a part of Residence Hall Week, Residence Life had a dating game, a kiss o’gram and a romantic movie screening on Valentine’s Day.

There were also some fun fact articles that were published in The Wheel related to Valentine’s Day. For example, in 1938, The Wheel published a key to flowers that one may receive from their sweetheart and what they mean. In 1950 and 1954, two articles looked at strange customs and legends surrounding the holiday. They informed readers that in the 17th century, a custom was for young men to draw their Valentines from an urn. In addition, young women in the 16th century would often remove the yolk from a hardboiled egg and fill the egg up with salt, before eating the entire thing with the shell before going to bed. Luckily today, we stick to exchanging flowers, sweets, and lovely cards.  

Singing Valentines

One of the few ongoing traditions to celebrate Valentine's Day here at St. Kate’s is Singing Valentines, which is performed by the Women’s Choir. Dr. Patricia Connors has been at St. Kate’s for 31 years and is the director for both the Women’s Choir and the Choral Society. In 2001, Connors started the Singing Valentines tradition and this event has gone on for roughly 18 years total. Among other things, Singing Valentines is a fundraiser for the choral program in order to be able to do their yearly fall retreat and tour during Spring Break every few years.

However, Singing Valentines is not just about raising money— it is really more about getting music present within people’s lives. For the Women’s Choir, it is a confidence builder and a type of outreach. It brings cheer and happiness to others during this holiday, as well as connecting the campus to the greater community. Singing Valentines are similar to caroling, but they are more specific. Unlike caroling where the choir’s goal is “getting the music to where people are,” as a whole, Dr. Connors explained Singing Valentines are more personally oriented.

The Women’s Choir recording virtual Singing Valentines

For in-person Singing Valentines, a small group of choir members greets a receiver of a Singing Valentine with a song as well as a rose. “There are a lot of moving parts,” Dr. Connors stated. Figuring out when and where a Singing Valentine is to be delivered and making sure that there is balance within the small groups are all very important. Singing Valentines are also delivered virtually via a video link sent by email. Virtual Singing Valentines pose their own challenges as well. For example, finding a space where there is little background noise and a microphone that is able to pick up the choir’s singing well is essential.

Singing Valentines have also provided the choir with great opportunities. For example, they had been invited to sing on WCCO-TV one year and on-air on the radio station KS95. The choir was even a feature in local writer and radio personality Garrison Keillor’s performance at The O’Shaughnessy during the University’s centennial celebration in 2005.

Now after looking at past and present Valentine’s Day celebrations and traditions here at St. Kate’s, what can you do today to continue or create new St. Kate’s Valentine’s Day traditions?