Part 1 The History of Valentine's Day 西方情人節的來歷

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery.

But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

February 14 is Valentine's Day. It is celebrated as a lovers' holiday today, with the giving of candy, flowers, or other gifts between couples in love. Valentine's Day has roots in several different legends that have found their way to us through the ages.

In Rome it's said that it originated in 5th Century as a tribute to St. Valentine, a Catholic bishop.

For eight hundred years prior to the establishment of Valentine's Day, the Romans had practiced a pagan celebration in mid-February commemorating young men's rite of passage to the god Lupercus. The celebration featured a lottery in which young men would draw the names of teenage girls from a box. The girl assigned to each young man in that manner would be his female companion during the remaining year.

In an effort to do away with the pagan festival, Pope Gelasius ordered a slight change in the lottery. Instead of the names of young women, the box would contain the names of saints. Both men and women were allowed to draw from the box, and the game was to emulate the ways of the saint they drew during the rest of the year. Needless to say, many of the young Roman men were not too pleased with the rule Changes.

Instead of the pagan god Lupercus, the Church looked for a suitable patron saint of love to take his place. They found an appropriate choice in Valentine, who, in AD270 had been beheaded 3 by Emperor Claudius. Claudius had determined that married men made poor soldiers. So he banned marriage from his empire. But Valentine would secretly marry young men that came to him.

When Claudius found out about Valentine, he first tried to convert him to paganism. But Valentine reversed the strategy, trying instead to convert Claudius. When he failed, he was stoned and beheaded.

During the days that Valentine was imprisoned, he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. His love for her, and his great faith, managed to miraculously heal her from her blindness before his death. Before he was taken to his death, he signed a farewell message to her, "From your Valentine." The phrase has been used on his day ever since.

Although the lottery for women had been banned by the church, the mid-February holiday in commemoration of St. Valentine was stilled used by Roman men to seek the affection of women .It became a tradition for the men to give the ones they admired handwritten messages of affection, containing Valentine's name.

Another Valentine was an Italian bishop who lived at about the same time, AD 200.He was imprisoned because he secretly married couples, contrary to the laws of the Roman emperor. Some legends say he was burned at the stake.

February 14 was also a Roman holiday, held in honor of a goddess. Young men andomly chose the name of a young girl to escort to the festivities. The custom of choosing a sweetheart on this date spread through Europe in the Middle Ages, and then to the early American colonies. Throughout the ages, people also believed that birds picked their mates on February 14!

In AD 496 Saint Pope Gelasius I named February 14 as "Valentine's Day". Although it's not an official holiday, most Americans observe this day. The first Valentine card grew out of this practice. The first true Valentine card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time.

Cupid, another symbol of the holiday, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. He is represented by the image of a young boy with bow and arrow. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards.

Whatever the odd mixture of origins, St. Valentine's Day is now a day for sweethearts. It is the day that you show your friend or loved one that you care. You can send candy to someone you think is special. Or you can send roses, the flower of love.

2月14日是“情人節”。如今它被人們作為情侶的節日來慶祝，相愛的人之間互贈糖果、鮮花或其他禮物。關于“情人節”的來歷，有許多不同的傳說經歷了漫長的歲月，一直流傳至今。

在羅馬，據說它源自于5世紀，是為了紀念一位天主教牧師Saint Valentine。在“情人節”確立前800年，羅馬人就已經有了一項在2月中旬舉行的異教徒慶典活動，年輕人通過慶典來紀念盧帕克斯神。這項慶典的特點是進行抽簽，讓年輕的男子從盒子里抽取十幾歲少女的名字。通過這種方式分配給每一位年輕男子的女孩就成了他那一年的女伴。

為了廢除這個異教的節日，羅馬教皇蓋拉西厄斯命令抽簽活動必須稍作改動：盒子里面裝的不再是年輕女孩的名字，而是圣徒的名字。男人和女人都可以從盒子里抽簽，游戲的目的是讓他們在本年度里仿效他們所抽到的圣徒的行為方式。不用說，很多羅馬的年輕人并不喜歡這種規則的改變。

教會決定尋找一位更適合的愛的守護神來代替異教的盧帕克斯神。他們發現Valentine是一個非常恰當的人選，他于公元270年被克勞迪亞斯王斬首。 克勞迪亞斯王堅信已婚男人是無用的戰士，因此在他的王國內禁止結婚。但是Valentine卻秘密地幫助那些來找他的年輕人主持婚禮。

當克勞迪亞斯王發現瓦倫西的行為后，他先是試圖使Valentine皈依異教，然而Valentine卻將計就計，反過來要使克勞迪亞斯王改信基督教。他失敗了，于是被亂石砸死并被砍了頭。

Valentine在被囚禁的日子里，與監獄長那盲眼的女兒相愛了。在他死前，他對她的愛和極度的忠誠竟然奇跡般地治好了她的眼睛。在他被押赴刑場之前，他在給她的訣別信中，簽下了“from your Valeninte”。從那以后這句話一直被沿用至今。

雖然抽簽得女人的活動已經被教會禁止，但羅馬的男人依舊利用二月中旬這個紀念Valentine的節日來追求女人的愛情。男人將他們手寫的愛情字條簽上Valentine的名字，然后送給他們所愛慕的女人，這逐漸演變成了一種傳統。

另一位Valentine是一位意大利主教，生活在同一時代，大約公元200年。他被投進監獄是因為他秘密地幫別人主持婚禮，這違反了當時羅馬帝國的法律。有一些傳說說他是被綁在火刑柱上燒死的。

2月14日也是羅馬人為表示對女神的敬意而慶祝的節日。年輕的男子隨便挑選一個年輕女子的名字，該女子便賠他度過這個節慶。中世紀時，在這個日子里選擇意中人的習俗傳遍了整個歐洲，然后又傳到了早期的美洲殖民地。

千百年來，人們一直相信鳥兒在2月14日選擇配偶。 在公元496年，圣徒羅馬教皇蓋拉西厄斯1世把2月14日命名為"Valentine's Day"（情人節）。雖然這不是一個官方節日，但大數美國人都很重視這一天。 第一張情人節卡片就是在這種情況下誕生的。1415年，奧爾良公爵查爾斯將第一張真正的情人節卡片送給了他的妻子。那時，他正被關在倫敦塔內。

丘比特是這個節日的另一個象征，之所以與這個節日有聯系，是因為他是羅馬愛情和美麗的女神維納斯的兒子。他被描述成一個帶著弓和箭的小男孩的形象。丘比特常常出現在情人節卡片上。

無論淵源有多么復雜，“情人節”如今已是情侶們的節日。這是你用來表達你對朋友和愛人的關心的日子。你可以把糖果送給對你來說很特別的人，也可以送愛情的花朵---玫瑰。

Part 2 Valentine Traditions and Customs 情人節傳統習俗

St Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14 of each year, the reason why it is celebrated on this day is because this was the day that the Patron Saint of Lovers "St Valentine" was supposedly executed on. On this day lovers all around the world mark this occasion as a day for sending poems, cards, flowers or candy, etc. They might also be a social gathering or ball to mark the occasion.

Many Valentine's Day customs involved ways that single women could learn who their future husbands would be. Englishwomen of the 1700's wrote men's names on scraps of paper, rolled each in a little piece of clay, and dropped them all into water. The first paper that rose to the surface supposedly had the name of a woman's true love.

Also in the 1700's, unmarried women pinned five bay leaves to their pillows on the eve of Valentine's Day. They pinned one leaf to the center of the pillow and one to each corner. If the charm worked, they saw their future husbands in their dreams.

One of the oldest customs was the practice of writing women's names on slips of paper and drawing them from a jar. The woman whose name was drawn by a man became his valentine, and he paid special attention to her. Many men gave gifts to their valentines. In some areas, a young man gave his valentine a pair of gloves. Wealthy men gave fancy balls to honor their valentines.

Valentine cards became popular in Great Britain in the nineteenth century. Noted artist Kate Greenaway created cards which featured joyful children and beautiful gardens. Esther Howland was one of the first Valentine card manufacturers in the United States. Inspired by a British card, she began production in 1847. Her cards featured lace and paper flowers and leaves. Other card manufacturers emphasized

Cupid, the pudgy, winged son of Venus, the goddess of love. In Roman lore, Cupid is known as Eros, the son of Aphrodite.

In the United States and Canada, children exchange valentines with their friends. In some schools, the children hold a classroom party and put all the valentines into a box they have decorated. At the end of the day, the teacher or one child distributes the cards. Many children make their own valentines from paper doilies, red paper, wallpaper samples, and pictures cut from magazines. Sometimes they buy kits that include everything needed to make valentines. Many children send their largest, fanciest cards to their parents and teachers.

In Europe, people celebrate Valentine's Day in many ways. British children sing special Valentine's Day songs and receive gifts of candy, fruit, or money. In some areas of England, people bake valentine buns with caraway seeds, plums, or raisins. People in Italy hold a Valentine's Day feast.

Valentine's Day曾是英國人喜愛的節日，隨著新大陸的開發，英國移民把這一富有浪漫色彩的節日帶到了北美，逐漸在美國生根開花。

年輕人是圣Valentine節當之無愧的主角，他們要在這一節日里鄭重其事地為戀人選擇禮物、贈送鮮花，表達自己的愛慕之情。癡情的姑娘可能會按照古老的傳說，在圣Valentine節前夜把月桂樹葉放在枕頭上，盼望在夢中同自己的心上人相會。

現在情人節已經不單是情人們的節日，也是各種朋友之間交換感謝的一個日子，是一個大眾化的節日。情人節這一天，不僅僅情侶們互贈卡片和禮物，人們也給自己的父母、老以及其他受自己尊敬和愛戴的人贈禮物和卡片。Valentine's Day就是這樣一個充滿愛情和友誼的歡樂節日。