Favorite tea pots and tea cups for Valentine's Day

Let's Have Tea, Won't We?

Isn't it always fun to celebrate Valentine's Day? I'd love to have a tea party with the grandkids, but our church has a "Princess Party" for Valentine's Day every year, and the littlest ones through the teens participate. The teens are the helpers for the day. The home schoolers also have a party, so they are pretty well saturated with Valentine parties, therefore no tea party this month.

But I do have some favorite Valentine's Day tea cups and tea pots, and since there are 6 girls in this house anyway, I'll just enjoy tea with them! Here are my favorite tea pots for the occasion. I have bought most of these at garage sales or flea markets--all but the little Portmerion pot.



I do love this flower-full tea pots!

And now for my favorite tea cups for the occasion:
(the granddaughters have claims on these!)

And this is the lovely table decoration that we will use for our tea and biscuits!

A brief overview of St. Valentine's Day

St. Valentine has been associated with at least three different individuals who lived during the third century AD, a priest in Rome, a bishop of Interamna --now the Italian city of Terni-- and a Christian martyr in Africa. Many theologians believe that the priest in Rome and the bishop in Interamna were actually the same man (Catholic Encylopedia). The activities that may have landed Saint Valentine in prison were marrying young Christian couples, proselytizing, and offering comfort to other Christians suffering under Roman persecution.

Among the miracles attributed to Saint Valentine was the restoration of sight to a blind girl, who also happened to be the daughter of Saint Valentine’s jailer. Inspired by Saint Valentine’s wondrous deed, the jailer converted to Christianity. While this certainly contributed to Saint Valentine’s renown, it also may have helped seal his doom. When after suffering severe beatings at the orders of Emperor Claudius II Saint Valentine still refused to renounce Christ, he was beheaded. One story alleges that Saint Valentine fell in love with the jailer’s daughter, and wrote her a farewell note which he signed "Your Valentine," sowing the seeds of a romantic tradition.

As is the case with Christmas, the celebration of Valentine’s Day is one mingled with both Christian and pagan traditions. While Valentine is a saint of the Catholic Church, his holiday is more often associated with depictions of Cupid, the cherubic Roman god of love, whose arrows cause mortals to be stricken with amorous intentions. February 14 may have been selected by the Church because this was the time of a Roman fertility celebration called Lupercalia, during which young men and women would be paired with each other via a lottery-type random drawing, a practice which the Church deplored and attempted to undermine. Other sources state that February 14 was the date of Saint Valentine’s execution. The general consensus is that he died in 270 AD. 226 years later, February 14 officially became Valentine’s Day.

Read more at Suite101: The Story of Saint Valentine: Valentine's Day History http://www.suite101.com/content/the-story-of-saint-valentine-a44462#ixzz1CisKOn41

We can always celebrate the truth that there is One who loves us with an everlasting love and was willing to give Himself up for us so that our sins which were scarlet may be washed as white as snow. The Lord Jesus Himself, has promised to never leave us or forsake us if we are His.

Have a joy-filled day!

I am linking today to:

A Stroll Thru Life
http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com

The Silken Purse
http://silkenpurse.blogspot.com

Tuesday Teatime with Lady Katherine
http://ladykatherineteaparlor.blogspot.com/

~ Teatime Tuesday with Sandi
http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com/

~ Teacup Tuesday with Martha
http://marthasfavorites.blogspot.com/