Valentine's Day
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Valentine's Day is a holiday on February 14th. It is the day of the year when lovers show their love to each other. This can be done be giving flowers, candy, or Valentine's cards. Love notes can be given to one another. These notes are called valentines.
Symbols of Valentine's Day are heart shapes and Cupid with his arrows.
Valentine's Day is named for two martyred Christian saints named Valentine.
Since the 15th century Valentine's pairs are formed in England. English emigrants took the Valentine's custom to the United States. After the Second World War, US soldiers brought this festival to Europe.
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[edit] Legend
In the third century after Christ, Valentine was the bishop of Terni (Italy). He wedded pairs, which were not allowed to marry in Rome at that time. The reasons were that parents did not agree with the connection or because the bridegroom was a soldier, or a slave so the marriage was forbidden. Valentine gave to the married pairs flowers from his garden. That's why flowers play a very important role on the Valentine's Day. This did not please the emperor. February 14 269, Valentin was beheaded because of his Christian faith.
An expansion of the legend combines the day of death of Valentine with the Roman festival Lupercalia. It was the festival of the great goddess Lupa, which meant "Fever of Love". She was the nana of Romulus and Remus. During the annual ceremony, the temple priestess (lupae) wrote their names on the stripes of papyrus. These were picked by young men. After the lottery, the youngsters walked through the city and got the blessings of the citizens. The martyr Valentine became the patron saint of the lovers. Still in the Middle Ages, as in France or in Belgium, people were chosen by the lottery to live a year with each other and people prayed to saint Valentin to make love potions and charms.
[edit] United States and Europe
In the 19th century, the custom of sending Valentine's Cards became very popular. The cards usually have pictures of hearts or flowers and contain some sort of poem, message, or code. Codes and simple messages give some people the courage to show their true feelings to the person they love. Today, some people still use mysterious codes to show their love. People can use newspapers to give a coded message to their loved one, giving other readers a view of the couples' intimacy with one another.
Famous for the popularity of the celebration is the folk song called "die Vogelhochzeit".
[edit] China
In China, a holiday called Qi Xi is also called "Chinese Valentine's Day", especially by younger people. Qi Xi is traditionally held on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar. In recent years, it has become more like Valentine's Day in other countries.
[edit] Gallery
 Hearts |
 Cupid |
 Valentine's Day chocolates |
