The ancient ceremony included putting girls' names in a box and letting the boy draw them out. Couples would then be paired off until the following year. The Christian church substituted saints' name for girls' name in hope that the participant would model his life after the saint whose name he drew.
However , it was once again girls' names that ended up in the box by the 16th century.
Eventually the custom of sending anonymous cards or messages to those whom one admired became the accepted way of celebrating Valentine 's Day. There was an increase in interest in Valentine 's Day , first in the United States and then in Canada , in the mid-19th century. Early versions of Valentine card fashioned of satin and lace and ornamented with flowers , ribbons , and images of cupids or birds appeared in England in the 1880s.