What is a better gift ?To say i love you is better than a piece of heart jewelery in Valentine’s Day?Fall in love with beautiful Celtic heart silver necklaces,Celtic love knot pendants,silver heart earrings or hearts bracelets,to say I love you from the heart are a really unique gift.They make perfect Valentine gifts,for a wife,or girlfriends.
Find original Valentine gifts for men:handcrafted Celtic jewelry valentines day presents for him ,Celtic cuff links and money clips—a gorgeous gift for man –and unique Valentine’s day and it is the day that you show your friend or loved one that you care about them.you can send candy to someone you think special.
Or you can send roses,the flower of love.Most people and sand “valentines”a greeting card named after the notes that St Valentine received in jail.Valentines can be sentimental,romantic and heartfelt.They can be funny and friendly.
If the sender is shy,valentines can be anonymous.And in the United States,Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards.Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800’s and now the date is very commercialized Americans of all aged love to send and receive valentines.
Handmade valentines created by cutting hearts out of colored paper,show that a lot of thought was put into making them personal.Valentines can be heart-shaped,or have hearts,the symbol of love on them.
In elementary schools children make valentines for their classmates and put them in a large decorated box,similar to a mailbox.On February 14,the teacher opens the box and distributes the valentines to each student.After the students read their valentines they have a small party with refreshments.
And for teenagers and adults,major newspaper throughout the country have a Valentine’s day offer. Anyone can send a message ,for a small fee of course,destined for a would be sweetheart,a good friend,an acquaintance or even a spouse of fifty years.
The message is printed in a special section of the newspaper on February 14.
The History of Valentine’s Day
Am I the only person to feel that we’ve had enough of winter? Within my reference it started too soon and just keeps going on and on.I, for one, certainly am looking forward to spring and
summer.
What an interesting holiday! The history of Valentine’s Day is really obscure and clouded; its roots are mysterious and its origins have become themes of many legends. St. Valentine’s Day as we know it contains parts of both Christian and ancient Roman traditions. I’ll only try to unravel a couple here but if you’re interested you can look further by checking Google.
According to one legend, the holiday has its roots in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalis/Lupercalla, a fertility celebration commemorated annually on February 15th. As Christianity came to dominance in Europe, pagan holidays such as Lupercalia were frequently renamed for early Christian martyrs. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day, declaring February 14th to be the feast day of the Roman martyr, Saint Valentine, who lived in the 3rd century. Although most scholars agree that Lupercallia was moved from February 15th to February 14th and was Christianized by associating it with this St. Valentine’s Day character, it is still unclear just who the historical St. Valentine was.
The mystery becomes more clouded when we learn that according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there were at least three early Christian saints by that name. It’s pretty astonishing to additionally learn that all three Valentines were said to have been martyred on February 14th.
Most accounts that I pulled up think that the St. Valentine of the holiday was a priest who attracted the disfavor of Roman emperor Claudius II around 270. The history of St. Valentine’s Day had two legends attached to it – the Protestant and the Catholic legend. According to both legends Valentine was a bishop who held secret marriage ceremonies of soldiers in opposition to Claudius II who had prohibited marriage for young men. At that time the Roman Emperor, Claudius II, had issued an edict forbidding marriage. This was because the Roman Empire was approaching its end, there were battles to be fought and all capable men were required to be recruited as soldiers and officers. Claudius believed that marriage caused men to become weak. Valentine saw the injustice of the decree. He defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. But Claudius learned of this “friend of lovers” and had him arrested and executed. Another school of thought believes that he was a Roman martyred for refusing to give up his Christian faith. According to church tradition St. Valentine was a priest/bishop of Rome in about the year 270 AD.
But back to Valentine in prison. There he met the blind daughter of his jailor. Catholic legend has it that the sight of Valentine was enough to restore his jailor’s daughter’s sight. The Protestant version refutes this although it agrees with all other forms of the legend. Just before his execution Valentine penned a note to his jailor’s daughter and signed it, “From Your Valentine,” a phrase that has lived through the ages.
Probably, however, the most plausible legend is that Valentine refused to renounce his religion – and for that he was executed and was martyred.
There are more legends and more confusion, but the most important thing is that we celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th with candy, flowers, gifts of love and offers of marriage. Let’s just enjoy the day and what we think it stands for.
The Double Seventh Festival
Valentine’s Day in the east is called The Double Seventh Festival. It falls on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month and is a traditional festival full of romance. It often goes into August in the Gregorian calendar. This festival is in mid-summer when the weather is warm and the grass and trees reveal their luxurious greens. At night when the sky is dotted with stars, and people can see the Milky Way spanning from the north to the south. On each bank of it is a bright star, which see each other from afar. They are the Cowhand and Weaver Maid, and about them there is a beautiful love story passed down from generation to generation. This is the only one about the origin of The Double Seventh Festival. Long, long ago, there was an honest and kind-hearted fellow named Niu Lang (Cowhand). His parents died when he was a child. Later he was driven out of his home by his sister-in-law. So he lived by himself herding cattle and farming. One day, a fairy from heaven named Zhi Nu (Weaver Maid) fell in love with him and came down secretly to earth and married him. The cowhand farmed in the field and the Weaver Maid wove at home. They lived a happy life and gave birth to a boy and a girl. Unfortunately, the God of Heaven soon found out the fact and ordered the Queen Mother of the Western Heavens to bring the Weaver Maid back. With the help of celestial cattle, the Cowhand flew to heaven with his son and daughter. At the time when he was about to catch up with his wife, the Queen Mother took off one of her gold hairpins and made a stroke. One billowy river appeared in front of the Cowhand. The Cowhand and Weaver Maid were separated on the two banks forever and could only feel their tears. Their loyalty to love touched magpies, so tens of thousands of magpies came to build a bridge for the Cowhand and Weaver Maid to meet each other. The Queen Mother was eventually moved and allowed them to meet each year on the 7th of the 7th lunar month.
Hence their meeting date has been called “Qi Xi” (Double Seventh). Some scholars have shown the Double Seventh Festival originated from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD220). Historical documents from the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD371-420) mention the festival, while records from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) depict the grand evening banquet of Emperor Taizong and his concubines. By the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties, special articles for the “Qi Xi” were seen being sold on markets in the capital. The bustling markets demonstrated the significance of the festival.
Today some traditional customs are still observed in rural areas of China, but have been weakened or diluted in urban cities. However, the legend of the Cowhand and Weaver Maid has taken root in the hearts of the people. In recent years, particularly, urban youths have celebrated it as Valentine’s Day in China. As a result, owners of flower shops, bars and stores are full of joy as they sell more commodities for love.
Valentine’s Day is named St.Valentine’s Day . It is one of the oldest traditional festivals in western countries. Although it has about 2000 years history, it is still full of vitality. The styles, which people celebrate are richer and richer and varied .Nowadays ,more and more Easterners accept the festival, and it has become a worldwide festival. About the origin of Valentine’s Day, it has roots in several different legends through the ages. One of them is Valentine’s Day which is for worshiping Juno who is Jupiter’s wife in Rome. Only few People know about this, and the following story is the most typical one, and is the most popular one recognized ever since.
In three AD ,there was a dictator named Claudius in Rome, and there was not far away from the palace ,a beautiful church where Valentine lived.Romans respected him and thought highly of him from the young to the old, from the poor to the rich, people always gathered around him listening to his prayer and words. The wars in Roman occurred frequently, then the dictator ordered the citizens go forward to the frontier, but they did not want to leave their families, especially young people ,they did not want to depart with their sweethearts. Claudius got angry and did not allow people to hold weddings, and those who had been proposed were told by him to dismiss the proposals. As a result,many young people had to say goodbye to the lovers, and girls became blue for losing their soul mates. Valentine got frustrated by the deed of the dictator, When a young couple came to the church asking him for help, Valentine held a wedding for them in the church without hesitation. Then the news spread from one corner to another, many young couples came here and got married with the help and prayers of Valentine. The news finally reached the ears of the dictator ,he puts him into jail.Valentine was saddened to death in the jail. In honour of the day of his death, people named that day Valentine’s Day.
Another opinion is that three hundred years after the death of Jesus Christ, the Roman emperor still demanded that everyone believe in the Roman gods. Valentine, a Christian priest, was thrown in prison for his teachings. On February 14, Valentine was beheaded, not only because he was a Christian, but also because he had performed a miracle.He supposedly cured the jailer’s daughter of her blindness. The night before he was executed, he wrote the jailer’s daughter a farewell letter, signing it “From Your Valentine.” Another legend tells us that this same Valentine, well-loved by all, received notes to his jail cell from children and friends who missed him. There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine’s Day . Despite the odd mixture of origins,St.Valentine’s Day is nowadays for sweethearts.
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