Newspaper article on Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day: history, traditions, celebration. In different countries
Despite the frosts, February is the most romantic month of the year. The tradition of celebrating Valentine's Day, or as they are also called - Valentine's Day, appeared with us relatively recently, but quickly took root.
They are waiting for Valentine's Day to declare their love, to make a marriage proposal, to please their soulmate with gifts. Lovers try to express their feelings brightly, coming up with unusual and memorable surprises: soft toys, original “valentines”, launching lanterns into the sky, a romantic dinner or an unusual passionate night.
Do you know the origin of the holiday? We will tell you the official version and lesser known details, as well as help you choose a gift for the occasion.
Valentine's Day: the history of the origin of the holiday
Church annals lead the curious to the 5th century during the time of Pope Gelasius I. And beliefs say that Valentine's Day appeared long before that: the ancient pagans had a semblance of Valentine's Day - a festival of eroticism. It took place on February 14-15 and was dedicated to three Roman gods at once: Juno, the wolf-nurse of Romulus and Remus, Faun.
Ancient celebrations did not involve special outfits, gifts and passionate confessions. It was a terrible bloody celebration, all participants of which were almost or completely naked. The goal is to save the Roman power, to prevent its extinction.
And the harbinger of the threat was the high mortality of newborns and infants of the empire. Families with three or fewer children were cursed. From words to deeds they started the next morning after the feast of Juno: they brought gifts to the gods, the young men were smeared with sacrificial blood. And near the walls of Rome, they had to beat with belts all the damned women of childbearing age.
It was believed that the rite increased the chances of having a healthy baby. Now, such an action seems barbaric to us, but then it was the norm.
By the way, there is a separate article on Wikipedia about the celebration of Lupercalia - a fertility festival in honor of the goddess of "feverish" love, which was celebrated annually on February 15th.
There was also a beautiful tradition of the festival of eroticism, similar to the modern celebration. In those days in Rome, boys and girls were brought up separately, dates were not supposed. However, resourceful youth found a way out of the situation.
On the eve of February 14, the girls wrote their names on pieces of paper and threw them into huge bowls, and the boys randomly chose a note. This is how couples were formed for the festival, which could meet throughout the year after the celebration. Many got married.
Several centuries later, the Catholic Church made every effort to make the people forget pagan traditions. The festival of eroticism for the canons seemed the height of depravity and disgrace. In order to distract the parishioners, they came up with Valentine's Day and a beautiful legend about it. Allegedly, in the 3rd century, when Claudius II ruled, on the eve of the war there was an acute shortage of soldiers, so the emperor forbade young men to marry.
According to legend, a priest named Valentine secretly married young people. When the secret was revealed, the cleric was sentenced to death. While in prison, he fell in love with the blind daughter of the executioner and healed her with the power of his feelings. And before the day of execution, he left a note with a declaration of love, signing "your Valentine."
Traditions for Valentine's Day
In Europe, Valentine's Day became widely known in the 13th century, in the USA - at the end of the 18th century, in our country - in the 90s of the last century.
On the eve of February 14, the shelves are filled with hearts of all kinds: pillows, toys, sweets, and so on. They are traditionally bought as a present.
But this is nonsense!
America in the early 20th century. men handed marzipans to their chosen ones, which at that time was considered expensive, but tasteful. In Japan, the holiday has gained popularity since the 1930s, from that time to this day, chocolate has been considered the most common surprise. In France, as a rule, jewelry is given, and in Denmark, dried white flowers.
There is a beautiful belief in Britain that if an unmarried woman wakes up before sunrise, stands at the window and looks at all the men passing by, then the first person she sees will be her future husband.
But in Saudi Arabia, Valentine's Day is completely prohibited, everyone who dares to celebrate it is fined.
The United Kingdom has its own tradition - the dedication of laudatory and sublime poems and songs to Valentine. The English, especially children, walk the streets, singing odes, receiving sweets in return. It is customary in Wales to give beautiful, ornate wooden spoons shaped like flowers, hearts and castles.
Also on this day, it is customary to anonymously send “valentines” to the object of your love, in which wishes and confessions of feelings are written in altered handwriting, and the addressee must guess who the card is from.
Roses are considered one of the most common and beautiful gifts. By the way, their number in a bouquet and color suggest different meanings:
- 1 flower - love,
- 12 - gratitude,
- 25 - congratulations,
- 50 - selfless love.
Scarlet petals - passionate feelings, pink - friendly, white - purity. A mixed bouquet of red and white roses is the mutual love of two people.
What to give a girl for Valentine's Day?
Of course, the best present on Valentine's Day for a lady of the heart will be a beautiful piece of jewelry - a necklace, bracelet or earrings. A great gift is a ring. It is important to understand that it shows not only feelings. It is presented if a man wants to make a marriage proposal.
Are you ready for such drastic changes? So, you should limit yourself to some other piece of jewelry. A wonderful alternative on Valentine's Day is a tour for two, for example, to Paris or Venice.
There are more modest ways to please a sweetheart on Valentine's Day: a bouquet of roses and a soft toy or a music box. Adult women can be presented with figurines depicting animals in love, angels. True, many consider such figures to be philistinism.
Beloved, of course, will appreciate a set of underwear. But if you find it difficult to choose the right size, then fishnet stockings or a peignoir will be a good substitute.
Perfumes and cosmetics also deserve attention on February 14th. If you know a brand that a girl prefers, feel free to present it. Otherwise, it's not worth experimenting.
How to choose the right one can be read in a separate article.
In no case should you give everything that is related to everyday life: multicookers, coffee machines, dishes, and even more so pans and pans.
It's still a romantic day. Also, do not give empty jewelry boxes. Secretly, any woman hopes, unfolding, that there will be a ring, earrings or a chain inside. Why disappoint her?
What to give a guy for Valentine's Day?
The beautiful half of humanity is a little easier to make a choice on Valentine's Day. Any man will appreciate a romantic dinner of festive dishes related to this day. Cake or pancakes in the shape of a heart, originally laid out salad - the nuances depend on the flight of fancy and culinary talents.
Aromatherapy can create an intimate atmosphere. Read how to choose the right aphrodisiac oils.
It is worth paying attention to your young man's hobbies - gadgets, folding knives, hunting, fishing.
Depending on this, you can choose a gift: a mouse or a portable charger, a fishing rod or an optical sight.
Young ladies with "crazy" hands often knit socks or scarves for the holiday, embroider monograms on handkerchiefs. All this, of course, is touching, but men rarely sincerely rejoice at such presents.
A good choice: a leather belt, a wallet, a cigarette case or an original lighter. And a little thing bought in an adult store will pleasantly surprise and bring a lot of pleasure to both partners.
Every year, Valentine's Day is gaining more and more popularity in our country and is already becoming an absolutely familiar date in the series of the most beloved holidays. Moreover, precisely February 14, on Valentine's Day, not only people who love each other, but even close relatives and friends confess their love. According to tradition, on this day it is customary to give each other valentines. These can be ordinary postcards, with the image of little cupids, flowers, hearts and other cute attributes.
The Legend of Valentine's Day
According to the main legend of the holiday of Valentine's Day- Valentine appeared back in 269 AD, when the Roman emperor Claudius II was preparing to once again conquer and conquer the whole world. But there was one big flaw in his ambitious idea - the tyrant's army was too small. Claudius decided to fight this problem in the bud and considered that the reason for the failures of his army was the family life of soldiers, and that is why he issued a law prohibiting soldiers from marrying throughout their service. Family, wife and other burdens are too distracting from important state affairs, Claudius believed, and therefore the first thing is the planes, and the girls - then. Moreover, Claudius II himself, according to his contemporaries, loved girls, and often and a lot. Here is such a hypocrite. 
However, all the soldiers resigned themselves to the new law and began to diligently engage in service, but there was one rebel among them who did not agree with the vile law. As you might guess, the name of this troublemaker was Valentine. The young priest already then believed that it was better to make love, and not war, and contrary to the decree of the emperor, he massively married lovers. As soon as Claudius found out about such a daring act, he immediately ordered the execution of the culprit.
Continuation of the history of the origin of Valentine's Day
Expecting his fate, Valentine did not waste time in vain and on the eve of the execution, he fell in love with the daughter of the jailer. I must say that the girl was very beautiful, but blind from birth. A practicing alchemist managed to cure the beauty of the disease and years later she was able to see the world, and at the same time the good Valentine, who managed to cope with the disease. On the eve of the execution, he decided to send a message to his beloved, where he confessed his feelings and signed simply - “Your Valentine”. This message became the very first Valentine in the world. 
The execution of the priest took place on February 14, 269. For disobeying the decree of the emperor, Valentine was beheaded. Many years later, the Catholic Church elevated him to the rank of saints and in 469, on the eve of the bicentenary of the execution of Valentine, Pope Gilasius decided that from now on, every year on the day of the execution of the priest, all the lovers of the world receive their own holiday - St. Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day Traditions
The tradition of celebrating Valentine's Day its roots go back to the 12th century and have been celebrated in Western Europe for 800 years. With the first settlers, the holiday migrated to North America, where the saint has been venerated since the end of the 18th century. In our country, the popularity of St. Valentine came with independence and the collapse of the USSR. 
On the eve of the holiday of Valentine's Day, thousands of lovers are racking their brains - how to surprise your soul mate and what kind of surprise to prepare. Of course, it's nice to get a colorful Valentine's card with a touching confession written on it, or to give a decorative heart with cupids, but, as they say, you also want something more substantial.
For example, practical Americans came up with Give sweet gifts to your soul mates on Valentine's Day. At the beginning of the 19th century, on Valentine's Day, men always gave their ladies a variety of marzipan sweets, as well as caramels made in the shape of this very heart. 
Colors for sweets were also chosen special - red and white, symbolizing red, bright passion and white purity of feelings. On sweets, the names of a loved one and confessions were applied. Progress did not stand still and instead of one "heart" candy, it became customary to give whole sweet sets, usually sweets were placed in a special heart-shaped box.
Valentine's Day in different countries:
How is Valentine's Day celebrated in England?
If we turn to the traditions of celebrating Valentine's Day in different countries of the world, it is interesting that in England men Choose your own Valentine. On pieces of paper, they wrote the names of the girls, then mixed them in a hat, and then drew them at random. Something from the category of a sports draw, only instead of a future rival for the competition, men pulled out a partner - and a girl, for example, with the name Rebecca, suddenly became Valentina for this particular man.
Valentine's Day in Italy
Italians, like Americans, have turned Valentine's Day into a sweet holiday and give each other cakes, pastries and sweets.
February 14 in France
The French prefer something more spectacular and give various jewels. By the way, it was the French who came up with the idea to give each other beautiful messages in the form of poems. Apparently, the point here is not so much in the coherence of the quatrains, but in the very language in which it is performed. As you know, the French language is recognized throughout the world as the language of love.
Finnish Valentine's Day
Hot Finnish guys decided to turn Valentine's Day into International Women's Day, or rather, into its small branch. On this day, only women in Finland receive gifts.
Japan February 14th
And in Japan, as always, everything was turned upside down on this day it is customary to congratulate men, and the most popular gift for Valentine's Day is some men's accessory.
Valentine's Day in Poland
Our neighbors, the Poles, were the luckiest of all that day. It is in their country, or rather, on the territory of the Poznan metropolis, that the holy relics of Valentine are located. There is also a miraculous image of the saint, to which thousands of pilgrims annually turn for help and blessings. And as a rule Saint Valentine refuses no one, continuing to work miracles hundreds of years later, after his departure to another world.
On this day, it will be useful to read 2 useful articles on this day. (Reprint from other resources.)Pagan lupercalia or fornication under the guise of Christianity
All normal people have holidays. A holiday is a special day when a person remembers what is dear and sacred to him. On this day, each person joins the object of his joy. Holidays are different: family, state, religious. They remind the history of family, country, communication of people with God. All holidays are a reflection of our culture, it is a unifying factor of different generations.
It is quite possible to paraphrase the well-known proverb - "tell me what holidays you celebrate, and I will tell you who you are." But now a strange situation is developing in Russia - in a short time, "holidays" alien and even hostile to Russian culture appeared.
One has only to wonder how a modern Russian person is able trustingly, without analysis and reasoning, to accept all the cultural garbage that the media and manifestations of Western or American consumer culture offer him. They will say - “Vanya, today we have Halloween”, and Vanya obediently celebrates the holiday, when, according to Celtic ideas, all evil spirits come to earth. Or: "Vanya, today is the world's Valentine's Day!" - and our "Vanya" hits all the hard ... What can I say - in Europe, the cultural sewer has burst, and everything pops up in our country ...
So, about Valentine's Day.
We all heard about this day not so long ago - just a few years ago on television, at foreign language lessons, they began to talk about "a wonderful European holiday - St. Valentine's Day - the day of all lovers." On the day of February 14, all lovers need to send letters, confess their love, give gifts, meet, etc. This "holiday" began to be celebrated by children, students and, as it turned out, ... adults.
Not too long ago, a parishioner told me how last year her son's wife suggested celebrating Valentine's Day with different partners. As a result, after “such a holy day”, the family, of course, broke up. In our long-suffering people, this day is associated with the day of "free love", the holiday of fornication. Let's still find out who Valentine is, whose "veneration" results in prodigal drinking.
On the Internet you can find many pages dedicated to this day. They tell the following story. In 269 a.d. e. under the emperor Marcus Aurelius Claudius II of Gotha, the priest Valentine lived. The emperor did not allow his soldiers to marry, and the priest Valentine secretly married them, wrote love letters, and brought people together. For this he was thrown into prison, where he healed the jailer's daughter, whom he was in love with. And, led to the execution, he wrote her a love letter and signed "Your Valentine." From here, allegedly, it was customary to give letters and gifts to loved ones.
You can come across the statement that this is an Orthodox holiday, they say, a saint is a Christian priest. If so, then the Church also supports this "Valentine's Day", then the whole surge of fornication is a normal thing?
No, my dears, everything is much more complicated. Firstly, this "holiday" is not Orthodox.
On February 14, Saint Valentine is not remembered in Orthodox churches. But if we open the calendar, we will see that since ancient times the Holy Orthodox Church has venerated three martyrs named Valentine: the martyr Valentine of Dorostolsky, who suffered for his faith in Christ in the year 228 (Comm. 7 May), the holy martyr Valentine the Bishop of Italy, who was killed because he is a Christian, in the year 273 (Comm. 12 August) and the Hieromartyr Valentin the Presbyter of the Roman, who was martyred for preaching about God in 269 (Comm. 19 July). All the dates of memory are the days when the martyrs accepted death at the hands of the pagans.
It is surprising that the year of the death of the holy martyr Valentine of Rome coincides with the year from the "Internet life". Isn't he mentioned in the romantic story of "Valentine's Day"? Let's study the life of the Holy Martyr Valentine of Rome.
We learn about the saint that he was seized for confessing Christ, put in chains and brought to the emperor Claudius for interrogation. "What do you think of the god Zeus and Mercury?" they asked him. “I don’t think anything else,” said St. Valentine, “except that they were miserable and impious people who spent the time of their lives impiously, in vices and pleasures.” He also told his tormentors about Christ, about salvation, and invited the emperor to repent.
Since Saint Valentine was a respectable and wise man, the emperor Claudius decided to give him to the educated dignitary Asterius, in order to defeat Valentine's faith in verbal disputes. Arriving at the house of Asterius, the saint prayed to God. Asterius heard how St. Valentine calls Jesus Christ the Light of Truth, and said: “If Christ enlightens every person, then I will now test whether what you say is true. I have a daughter who was blind before the age of two, and if you restore her sight in the name of your Christ, then I will do whatever you wish.
The saint agreed, Asterius hurriedly went and brought a blind girl (a child is considered a child under 14 years old - A.K.). After a fervent prayer, the little girl received her sight, and all the household members of Asterius believed in Christ, and after preparation, Asterius, with his entire house, in which there were 46 people, received the Sacrament of Baptism.
Hearing about the baptism of Asterius, many Christians came to his house, where they were seized by the imperial soldiers and thrown into prison. After much torment, the Christians were brought before the court of the emperor Claudius, who "gave the order without mercy to beat St. Valentine with sticks and then cut off his head with a sword." Then all the other captured Christians also suffered, including Asterius and his family.
Studying the real life of the holy martyr Valentine, we will not notice anything in common with its modern version. There are no secret weddings in it - it is well known that the wedding as the Sacrament of blessing marriage in the Church was established much later. We will not find in the life of a martyr either pandering or writing love letters. Even the intrigue of falling in love with a healed girl - the jailer's daughter, is just an "elephant", which was inflated by modern lovers of "strawberries". Truly the proverb is right, saying that a pig will find dirt everywhere.
It is not Christian because the one celebrating it directly violates the seventh commandment - do not commit adultery.
Love in the modern sense is not romantic feelings, but lustful speeches and looks, and even bed scenes. All this is quite frankly promoted by the media, depraved offices and so on. "Valentine's Day" not in abstract reasoning, but in fact, became a day of fornication, a day of bestiality. No, I mentioned cattle in vain, animals unite only at a certain time and only for the continuation of offspring, which means that this is a “holiday” below bestiality, when a person loses his human appearance and becomes worse than an animal in his lust. Such a state, and therefore such a “holiday”, cannot be called Christian. It cannot, because the Lord tells us that “everyone who looks at a woman lustfully is already committing adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:38).
The fact that this day is celebrated by some Europeans means absolutely nothing. We began to forget the saying: what is good for a German is death for a Russian!
February 14 - "Valentine's Day", "the holiday of all lovers" - is an ideological sabotage against the culture of Russia. Obviously, there is a substitution of concepts, a distortion of ideas, an undermining of traditions and their replacement with others - alien, hostile, destructive. It is impossible for depravity to be openly promoted, fornication to spread, families to be destroyed. Otherwise, degeneration and death await us, both in this life and in the next.
“Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor malakia, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor predators - will inherit the Kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6, 9-10).
Priest Andrei Kanev
Incomprehensible sin.
Oksana Severina
In today's society, the attitude towards premarital relations and civil marriage is absolutely loyal. However, the Church says that fornication is a mortal sin, just like theft or murder. Theft and murder bring suffering, but here people love each other, society objects. But for some reason the Church stubbornly repeats: one man and one woman are together forever, and the rest is a sin. Why?
Sense of duty and love
According to a sociological survey conducted in Tver, out of a thousand respondents of different ages, more than 70 percent of young people, approximately 65 percent of middle-aged people and about 40 percent of older people spoke in favor of the so-called "civil marriage". The arguments were different, depending on age. Parents see in this form of relationship an opportunity for young people to "test themselves so that they do not have to suddenly divorce." Young people strive to preserve the independence and authenticity of their feelings, because, "except for love, nothing binds us in such a marriage." Only the Church goes against public opinion, still considering a married union as a normal marriage, recognizing a marriage entered into in the registry office as a civil marriage, and considering any other cohabitation a serious sin. “There can be no changes in this position of the Church, because what the priests teach is the teaching of Holy Scripture,” says Archpriest Maxim Pervozvansky, editor-in-chief of the Naslednik youth magazine, confessor of the Young Russia Youth Association. — The Apostle Paul says: “Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor thieves... shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). If we start teaching something else, the criterion of truth will be lost, then we will have to admit that the Church has been teaching wrong for thousands of years. Another thing is that we must make church messages understandable to modern man.”
Not only in Christianity, but also in many other cultures, marriage is an appropriate ceremony when two people make public promises of mutual fidelity and love and then arrange a wedding feast, to which, for example, according to Byzantine law, the person entering into marriage had to invite at least nine neighbors - such was the understanding of publicity for that culture.
Public mutual obligations create the necessary conditions for the development of relations in marriage. “Love,” Father Maxim continues, “is a dynamic value, it either grows or dies. A sense of duty is one of the most important conditions for the growth of love, so it’s not at all a “stamp in the passport”. When a person publicly says: now we are husband and wife, it means, as one Protestant formulation says: in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in wealth and in poverty, until death do us part. If a person marries with the thought, they say, nothing, I’ll live - I’ll get a divorce, such a marriage will be doomed from the very beginning. Our love for our children, for our parents is explained, Father Maxim believes, not so much by an abstract consanguinity as by the actual impossibility of changing them. When entering into marriage, a person must understand that this is forever, then this creates the necessary basis for the development of love. Without mutual commitment, love quickly fades away.
Family "pretend"
Often people try to test their feelings by “civil marriage”. But is it possible, for example, to check the serviceability of the alarm clock with a tape measure? Obviously, this requires another tool. In the same way, a "civil marriage" cannot test what is necessary in a real marriage: the ability to sacrifice one's own interests, to get used to each other. “It is possible,” says Priest Ilya Shugaev, rector of the Church of the Archangel Michael in Taldom, author of a cycle of conversations with high school students about family and marriage “Once in a Lifetime,” to check housekeeping, learn habits. But in the spiritual life of the family, personal habits are in tenth place. If you are ready to sacrifice yourself for the sake of another, then any difference in upbringing, in habits - everything becomes surmountable.
In addition, most often the participants in a “civil marriage” check the feelings of their partner, and not their own. One parishioner, having come to faith, told Father Ilya about such checks: “You are constantly looking closely, waiting: come on, what other trick will she throw out? Yeah, you see, I didn't wash the dishes. But you yourself do not begin to wash: how then will it be “tested”? It seems that the more temptations arise, the more thorough the scrutiny will be.” The behavior of spouses in a "civil" and real marriage is completely different. In marriage, when problems arise, there is a common desire to overcome them. In cohabitation, each wants to see how the other handles it.
Quantity instead of quality
“One of the ugliest events of our century,” says Archpriest Vladislav Sveshnikov, Doctor of Theology, rector of the Church of the Three Hierarchs in Kulishki, “is the substitution of the word “love”. Now they say “to make love”, while love at all times meant the experience by a person of the value of another person as the image of God. Love is a willingness to make any sacrifice for the sake of your chosen one, and not a psychophysiological expression. Therefore, fornicators do not live by love. This was clear even in ancient times, because even then there was a big difference between a wife and a concubine. Personality as the image of God is destroyed by sin, therefore, in fornication, the destruction of personality occurs.
"... Every sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the fornicator sins against his own body" (1 Cor. 6:18). The apostle Paul calls the human body a vessel for storage, a “receptacle” of the Holy Spirit, and therefore calls to keep it in “holiness and honor, and not in the passion of lust.” It is impossible, by defiling the body, to leave clean its contents - the soul.
“First, a man and a woman make an obligation of fidelity and fix it with marriage, a spiritual connection arises, then bodily intimacy. Otherwise, the family will be ugly - such is the law of spiritual life, ”says father Ilya Shugaev.
And if people have experience of intimacy with different people? From a spiritual point of view, in every "civil marriage" a person leaves a particle of his heart. “A person wanted to unite in body, soul and spirit, he didn’t want to at all, but received everything at once,” Father Ilya continues. “Bodily bonding is easy to break. But the spiritual connection remains. The soul, it turns out, is already connected with other people, and these connections pull it, do not give it freedom. That is why, when a man subsequently tries to enter into a real marriage, it turns out that he can no longer love his wife with all his heart. Part of his heart will always belong to someone else. It is not surprising if such a relationship lacks spiritual fulfillment.
For the same reason, people begin to experience inner devastation, often changing partners, looking for their “true love”. They try to compensate for the quality of relationships with quantity, which leads to various neurotic disorders, one of which is the so-called Don Juan syndrome.
“In the Church’s understanding, fornication is sin, and sin is a wound on the soul, and if it is not treated, it will constantly bleed,” says Father Ilya. “But any sin is cured by repentance, after which only a scar will remain in place of the bleeding wound.”
Today I will not stuff you with complex scientific things that you need to think about. Just a little digression into history. Happy holiday to you all!
February 14 is Valentine's Day, the patron saint of all lovers. Today is also celebrated: in Liberia - Literacy Day, in Liechtenstein - the birthday of Prince Hans Adam II von Liechtenstein (1945), in the USA - Presidents' Day, in Bulgaria - the Day of Tryphon Zarezan, the patron saint of viticulture. In addition, February 14 marks the 130th anniversary of the household telephone (1876).
St. Valentine's Day, the patron saint of all lovers, Auxentius Vifinsky (among Orthodox Christians falls on February 27) is a Christian holiday that has existed for more than 18 centuries. Although they say that they began to celebrate it even earlier and it goes back to the Roman holiday Lupercalia - a festival of eroticism in honor of the goddess of "feverish" love Juno Februata. On this day, everyone left their business and the fun began. The holiday was overgrown with rituals. The purpose of the holiday was to find your soul mate and, as a result, after the celebration of the holiday, a large number of families were created.
At this time (and history dates back to about 269), Emperor Claudius II was going to conquer the world, but the Roman army experienced an acute shortage of soldiers for military campaigns, which interfered with military plans. Claudius II saw the source of all troubles in marriage and therefore banned the wedding ceremony. But there are no barriers between loving hearts - and now Bishop Valentine neglects the tyrant's prohibition. Rites are performed in secret. But the emperor has his henchmen everywhere and very soon Valentine is thrown into prison.
A few days before the execution, a girl is brought to him, the daughter of one of the jailers, who was seriously ill and Valentine was her last hope. Using his healing gift, Valentine heals her, but he himself can no longer be helped. The execution is scheduled for February 14th. The day before the execution, Valentine asked the jailer for paper, pen and ink and quickly wrote a farewell letter to the girl. On February 14, 270, he was executed. And the girl opened a note where Valentine wrote about his love and signed "Your Valentine." According to other versions, this letter was intended for Valentine's children and friends, who loved him devotedly. It was one way or another, but from here, Valentine's Day notes look like a completely natural and even necessary, traditional step.
In 496, Pope Gelasius declared February 14th to be Saint Valentine's Day. Since then, lovers have revered St. Valentine and consider him their intercessor. It is very popular to arrange weddings and get married on this day. They say that this is the key to eternal love.
In the folk Slavic calendar, this day is called Trifon Perezimnik, Starfall, Mousegon. On Tryphon, girls pray for suitors: February is the month of weddings.
Valentine's Day is celebrated in almost all countries of the world, and it is interesting that every year the holiday of all lovers is becoming increasingly popular, more and more people are fond of the idea of singing an ode to a great feeling, love. Valentine's Day has overcome all state borders, racial prejudices and is celebrated all over the world. Thousands of people around the world are looking forward to this day to show how love burns with a bright flame in their hearts.
The modern generation treats the holiday with great respect, this day is celebrated with an expression of love not only for a dear person, but for all people in general.
history of the holiday
Valentine's Day has its roots in a pagan tradition when people celebrated February 14th in honor of the Roman god of fertility. This February fertility festival also marked the arrival of spring and was known to the ancients as the Feast of the Luprekalia. At the festival, men pulled papers with the names of girls out of the box. After that, the formed couples were supposed to be together for exactly a year. Sometimes young people fell in love and, after a year, tied the knot. With the advent of the Christian era, the church decided to turn the pagan holiday into a celebration of St. Valentine's Day.
In the XIV century, Valentine's Day was celebrated between lovers, on this occasion a feast was held in the cities. In the 16th century, a tradition was born to exchange gifts, attaching a paper note to them. Initially, notes were made by hand and sent unsigned. Already in the 1800s, special gifts appeared, which were hand-painted copper plates in the shape of a heart; later, carved handicrafts and lithographs replaced the plates. In the middle of the XVIII century, Valentine's Day penetrated the masses, on February 14, people began to secretly exchange small souvenirs or handwritten confessions, which were called "valentines".
So who is Saint Valentine?
So who is Saint Valentine? In fact, his identity is shrouded in a veil of mystery. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, at least three Saint Valentines are known to the Christian world, all of them are mentioned in connection with February 14, and all three were ranked among the holy martyrs. One of them was a Roman priest, another was a bishop of Interamna (modern Terni, Italy), the third lived and died in Africa. The most common and well-known legend is the legend of the priest Valentine, who tied the knot of loving hearts.
This story happened around 270 AD. under the Roman emperor Claudius, known in history as Claudius the Cruel.
Next to the imperial palace was a beautiful temple in which the priest Valentine served. The Romans loved him with all their hearts and listened to his every word, rich and poor, wise and foolish, aristocrats and ordinary people - everyone was waiting for Valentine's blessing.
But at this time, Rome got involved in another war and Claudius called on the townspeople to fight, but year after year passed, and there was no end to the war. Residents were tired of fighting, married men did not want to leave their families, young people did not want to leave their loved ones. The emperor became angry because the soldiers were getting smaller and smaller, and he gave a ban on weddings.
When Valentine found out about the order of the emperor, he was very upset. But soon a young couple secretly came to him at the temple with a request to marry them, and he complied with their request. After another couple turned to him, he helped them too, having performed the sacrament of marriage at the sacred altar, others came for them.
However, the secret could not but become clear, and soon Claudius found out about everything, the news led him into an indescribable rage. He ordered the soldiers to deliver Valentine to the palace and throw him into prison.
Many people asked Claudius to let Valentine go, but the emperor was inexorable. Valentine died in custody, and on February 14 his devoted friends buried him in the church of St. Proxedus.
Another legend tells of a man named Valentine, who lived in the era of the birth of Christianity, when faith in Christ was tantamount to a death sentence. For helping several Christian martyrs, he was captured and imprisoned by the Roman prefect. While in prison, Valentine healed the daughter of his guard from blindness. When the cruel emperor found out about this miracle, he gave the order to behead Valentine. It is said that on the morning of her execution, she sent a farewell letter to the guardian's daughter, signed "your Valentine".
Valentine's Day in Japan
The celebration of Valentine's Day in Japan takes place according to a somewhat non-standard scenario. Here girls buy chocolate for men. One type of chocolate, called kiri-shoko, is meant for friends and close relatives, and the gift of such chocolate does not signify any romantic feelings. Another type of chocolate, called hon-mei, is meant for the "second half", such chocolate is purchased as a gift to a close friend, husband or lover as a gift dictated by feelings. Exactly one month later, it's the man's turn to make a return gift. It is on March 14 (White Day) that men give chocolate gifts to women, from whom they received gifts on February 14. The chocolate given by the men is usually white, after the name of the day.
Valentine's Day in Britain
Among the many traditions popular in Britain regarding the commemoration of the patron saint of all lovers, the most common is the composition of love poems and confessions in verse form. In different parts of the UK, as the holiday approaches, various celebrations take place. On February 14, all newspapers publish sonnets and poems dedicated to Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day in Australia
Australia's gold miners, pocket scorched by newly acquired wealth from the mines of Balarat, were willing to pay a hefty price for artfully crafted valentines. Australian merchants also did not skimp on Valentine's Day gifts, spending more than a thousand pounds on them. The most expensive gift was considered to be a satin pillow decorated with ribbons and ruffles.
Valentine's Day in Germany and Austria
In other countries, for example, in Germany or Austria, it has long been a tradition among men to buy flowers for their beloved on Valentine's Day. An interesting aspect of this tradition is that a man must choose flowers very carefully, keeping in mind which flowers his “soulmate” loves the most. In Germany, it is considered obligatory that husbands and young people give flowers to their lovers on Valentine's Day.
Among other things, you can always add romance to this day by giving some symbol of love.
Valentine's Day in Brazil and Russia
Despite the fact that Valentine's Day has received international status and young people responded to this ancient tradition with pleasure, in some countries there are similar holidays. So, for example, even in Russia there was an analogue of this holiday, known as the Day of Ivan Kupala. Brazil does not lag behind Russia, which celebrates the day of love twice a year on February 14 and June 12.
Almost all the countries of the world devote a day to declarations of love. However, Brazil has its own reason for celebration.
