History, Customs and Traditions

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• History, Customs and Traditions

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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
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• Early Christian Church indicates the presence of
  at least two saints names Valentine. Some
  scholars however, says that there were as many as
  seven saints credited with the name of Saint
  Valentine or Valentinus all of whom lived in the
  Third Century and apparently died on the same
  day. Given here are some of the most popular of
  all legends of Saint Valentine

• There are various popular and interesting legends
  of St Valentine's Day. Some legends trace the
  origin of Valentine's Day to pagan times while
  others link it one or more Saints of early
  Christian Church. Yet another point of view on
  the origin of Valentine's Day links it to the
  beginning of birds mating season. Popularity of
  the festival is perhaps due to the combined
  effect of all these legends along with the notion
  that spring is the time for love.

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• Several historians trace the origin of
  Valentine's Day to pagan times in ancient Roman
  Empire. In those times, people organized a
  holiday on February 14 to honor Juno - the
  mythological Queen of Roman Gods and Goddesses.
  The Romans also regarded Juno as the Goddess of
  Women and Marriage. From the following day -
  February 15 started the Fertility Festival called
  the Feast of Lupercalia. This feast was organized
  to protect humans from wolves and to honor the
  Roman Gods of Agriculture - Lupercus and Faunus
  besides the founders of Rome - Romulus and Remus.
  During the Feast of Lupecalia, members of
  Lupercali - an order of the Roman priest used to
  gather in a sacred cave where Romulus and Remus
  were believed to have been cared for by a
  she-wolf or lupa. Following the tradition, the
  priest would sacrifice a goat for fertility and a
  dog for purification. Boys would slice the goats
  hide into strips, dipped them in sacrificial
  blood and move about the streets gently slapping
  women and fields with the animal hide. Womenfolk
  gladly received a slap, as they believed that the
  practice would make them more fertile. Later,
  during the Feast of Lupecalia, all the young
  women in the city would place a chit of their
  name in a big urn. Bachelors in the city would
  each then take a chit out of the urn and became
  paired for the girl whose name was on the chit
  for the rest of the year. Quite often, the paired
  couple would fall in love and marry.Later, when
  Christianity spread through Rome, the practice of
  finding mate through lottery' was deemed
  un-Christian and outlawed. Around 498 AD, Pope
  Gelasius is said to have declared February 14 St.
  Valentine's Day. Some writers link Valentine's
  Day with Feast of Lupercalia because of similar
  date and connection with fertility.

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• According to one very popular legend, Valentine
  was a priest in Rome who lived during the reign
  of Emperor Claudius II. Under his regime,
  Claudius is said to have engaged Rome into
  several bloody battles. To strengthen his army,
  the Emperor continuously needed to recruit
  soldiers. However, Claudius found that not many
  soldiers were keen to join the army because of
  attachment with their wives and families. In
  order to sever the bond of attachment, Claudius
  cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome.
  Valentine - a romantic at heart priest, defied
  this callous decree of Claudius by secretly
  arranging marriages of young men and women. When
  Valentine's defiance was discovered by the
  Emperor, he was brutally beaten up and put to
  death on February 14, about 270 AD.
• For his martyrdom and dedication for the cause
  Valentine was name a Saint after his death. By
  Middle Ages, Saint Valentine became popular as
  the patron saint of love and lovers in England
  and France to the extent that Pope Gelasius
  declared February 14 as Valentine's Day on 498 AD
  and put an end to pagan celebrations. Thus, Saint
  Valentine's martyrdom day became an occasion to
  celebrate love.

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Legends of St Valentine's DaySaint Valentine of
Rome - II

• Another famous legend on Saint Valentine states
  Valentine was an early Christian in Rome who was
  very popular amongst children. But during the
  time when Valentine lived, Roman regime was not
  in favour of Christianity and it even persecuted
  Christians to make Rome free of the followers of
  Christianity. In spite of this strict law,
  Valentine continued to practice his faith and
  refused to worship Roman Gods. This enraged
  Emperor Claudius II and he put Valentine into
  prison. Valentine is said to have spent a year
  in rigorous imprisonment during which he was
  missed a lot by children. They began to toss
  loving notes and flowers between the bars of his
  cell window. To an extent, this legend may
  explain the tradition of exchanging notes and
  flowers on Valentine's Day.

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Legends of St Valentine's DaySaint Valentine of
Rome - II

• Some scholars believe that during his stay in
  prison Valentine made friends with jailer's blind
  daughter who at times brought to him notes and
  flowers from children. Whenever, possible
  Valentine also replied to the notes. Days before
  his execution, Valentine prayed for the jailer's
  daughter and she regained her sight. Before his
  death, Valentine is also said to have written a
  farewell note for the jailer's daughter and
  signed it "From Your Valentine. This expression
  is popular even till date. Some scholars
  believe that Valentine was killed because he
  tried to help Christians escape from the Roman
  prison as they were being tortured and beaten.
  Yet another set of scholars say Emperor Claudius
  II was impressed by Valentine's kindness and good
  behavior. He even stated that Valentine could be
  freed if he agreed to worship Roman Gods.
  Valentine not just refused he even tried to
  convert Emperor to Christianity. This made
  Claudius very angry and he ordered his execution.
  Valentine was beheaded on February 14.

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Legends of St Valentine's DaySaint Valentine -
Bishop of Interamna - Legend III

• Some scholars talk about the presence of yet
  another Saint Valentine related to Valentine's
  Day celebration of February 14. This Valentine
  was a Bishop residing in Interamna (today known
  as Terni) in Italy in the Third Century. He is
  said to have dedicated his life to the Christian
  community of Terni, becoming the first Bishop of
  the town. People adored Bishop Valentine and the
  fame of his holiness and miracles reached Rome.
  Valentine's was also linked with love because he
  is believed to be the first religious personage
  to oversee the celebration of marriage between a
  pagan man and a Christian woman. This Saint
  Valentine is believed to have been scourged,
  imprisoned and beheaded by Placidus, Prefect of
  Interanma. The relic bones of this Saint
  Valentine are housed in a basilica in Terni. To
  commemorate the saint, every year on February 14,
  the town of Terni hosts exhibitions, fairs and
  cultural events.

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• During the Middle Ages, people in England and
  France held a popular belief that birds started
  to look for a mate from February 14. This popular
  notion further strengthened the idea that
  Valentine's Day festival that falls in the middle
  of February should be celebrated as the day of
  love and romance. The concept soon gained ground
  amongst the lovers and they began to celebrate
  the day by exchanging love notes and simple gifts
  like flower.

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• Other aspects of the story say that Saint
  Valentine served as a priest at the temple during
  the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had
  Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D.
  Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St.
  Valentine. Gradually, February 14 became the
  date for exchanging love messages and St.
  Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The
  date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts
  such as flowers. There was often a social
  gathering or a ball. 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
  commercialised. The town of Loveland, Colorado,
  does a large post office business around February
  14. The spirit of good continues as valentines
  are sent out with sentimental verses and children
  exchange valentine cards at school.

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• Romantic festival of St Valentine's Day is
  celebrated with enthusiasm and fond regard in
  several countries around the world. Most commonly
  observed Valentine's Day tradition and custom is
  expressing one's love with an exchange of cards,
  flowers and gifts. Pampering one's beloved and
  making a romantic proposal to one's sweetheart is
  the other popular tradition of the festival that
  celebrates love.

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Traditions and Customs

• There are several other Valentine's Day customs
  and traditions associated with festival but these
  vary in different countries because of the social
  and cultural differences. What remains the same
  everywhere though is celebration of love by
  lovers. Here we will discuss some of the most
  commonly observed way of celebrating St
  Valentine' Day.
• Looking for Dates
• Wishing Happy Valentine's Day' to all We Love
• Valentine's Day Custom of Exchanging Notes
• Valentine's Day Tradition of Exchanging Gifts
• An Occasion to Dine and Wine
• Valentine's Day Celebrations in Schools

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• One of the most popular customs of Valentine's
  Day observed worldwide is to go on a date with
  sweetheart. Those without a date start looking
  for one days before the festival. The custom
  originated from the popular English belief that
  birds chose their partners on February 14. For
  this reason, Valentines Day was called the
  Birds' Wedding Day in parts of Sussex.

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Traditions and CustomsWishing Happy Valentine's
Day' to all We Love

• In the beginning, Valentine's Day was associated
  with romantic couples only but in recent times
  the festival is seen in much larger perspective.
  Now, people take opportunity of the day to wish
  Happy Valentine's Day' to anyone they love be it
  father, mother, teachers, siblings, friends,
  co-workers or just anyone special to them. The
  idea behind this tradition is to celebrate love,
  get love and give love to everyone around us.

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Traditions and CustomsValentine's Day Custom of
Exchanging Notes

• One of the most commonly observed Valentine's Day
  customs is the exchange of love notes called
  Valentines'. Initially people used to exchange
  handwritten notes but starting with the 19th
  century, the practice of sending hand written
  notes was replaced by the exchange of
  mass-produced greeting cards. Gradually,
  Valentines Day cards came to be gifted to
  teachers, siblings, parents, friends and dear
  ones along with sweethearts. Today, Valentine's
  Day festival is estimated to be the biggest
  card-sending occasion after Christmas. Most
  commonly used pictures in Valentine's Greetings
  include images of popular Valentines Day symbols
  like red roses, hearts and Cupid - the pudgy,
  winged son of Venus, the goddess of love. These
  days, there is also a tradition to club
  Valentine's with tiny candy hearts with
  affectionate messages printed on them.

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Traditions and Customs Valentine's Day Tradition
of Exchanging Gifts

• There exists a strong tradition of indulging
  one's beloved with gifts of love. Some of the
  most popular gifts exchanged between lovers on
  Valentine's Day are fresh flowers - mainly roses,
  chocolates and teddy bears. Fine jewelry is
  increasingly becoming a popular St Valentine's
  Day gift for women due to the rigorous marketing
  campaign by diamond industry. Candies, showpieces
  besides several other things are also gifted to
  dear ones including grandparents, parents,
  siblings, teachers and friends. This is because
  Valentine's Day is increasingly being regarded as
  the festival that celebrates love between two
  individuals and not just lovers.

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• The other most traditional way to celebrate
  Valentine's Day is to go for romantic candlelight
  dinners with one's Valentine. Many also choose to
  propose their dates in such a romantic setting
  and say the golden words, I love you'. The other
  most emerging tradition is to participate in
  Valentine's Day balls and dance parties organized
  by various societies, clubs and restaurants. Many
  people also organize Valentine's Day Couple's
  parties in their homes where lovers have a blast
  in the company of friends. Those without a
  partner organize Valentine's Day Single's Party
  and have a good time dancing and playing games
  with other friends who are single.

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Traditions and Customs Valentine's Day
Celebrations in Schools

• In several countries including United States and
  Canada there is a tradition to organize
  Valentine's Day classroom parties in schools. In
  such parties children exchange chocolates and
  Valentine's Day cards with their friends. British
  children sing special Valentine's Day song and
  receive candies and chocolates as reward. Senior
  school children usually organize Valentine's Day
  dance parties and have fun with friends.

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• There are several symbols attached to the
  romantic festival of Valentine's Day. The most
  commonly attached Valentine's Day Symbols include
  Roses, Hearts, Cupid, Lovebirds and Dove besides
  Love Knots and Laces. Each of these Valentine's
  Day Symbols has an interesting story about how
  they become attached with the festival. Over the
  years these symbols have become a part of the
  Valentine's Day Tradition. The present generation
  may not know the story behind these symbols but
  they surely recognize the festival with its
  traditional symbols.
• Valentine's Day Roses
• Valentine's Day Hearts
• Cupid
• Lovebirds Doves
• Love Knots
• Valentines Day Lace

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Valentine's Day Roses
Valentine's Day Hearts
Cupid
Lovebirds Doves
Love Knots
Valentines Day Lace
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Valentine's Day Symbols Valentine's Day Roses

• Rose is one of the most popular flower and one of
  the most powerful symbol of Valentine's Day.
  Since time immemorial rose flower has been a
  favorite of poets and romantics at heart. For
  them, the lovely rose stand for beauty, passion
  and love.
• Every year on February 14 lovers long for a
  gift of Rose from their Valentine as the flower
  has come to denote I love you'. No wonder,
  demand for roses reach its zenith on Valentine's
  Day as people across the globe chose to express
  their love with a lovely rose.

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Valentine's Day Symbols Valentine's Day Roses

• Legend behind Valentine's Day Roses
• There is an interesting story behind the legend
  of Valentine's Day Rose. It is said that once a
  beautiful maiden by the name of Rodanthe was
  pursued by a number of impassioned suitors. In
  their desperate pursuit the lovers broke the
  doors of Rodanthe's house. This enraged goddess
  Diana. She turned Rodanthe into a flower and her
  suitors into thorns.
• According to a popular legend in Rome once
  Cupid was carrying a vase of sweet nectar to the
  Gods on Mount Olympus and some nectar spilled on
  the ground. From the spot where the nectar fell
  emerged the beautiful Rose flower.
• An interesting point to notice is that if
  the letters of the word rose' are rearranged, it
  comes out to Eros - the God of Love. Red roses
  are also considered to be a symbol of love and
  passion and the favorite flower of Venus - the
  Goddess of Love.

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Valentine's Day Symbols Valentine's Day Roses

• Meaning of Different Colors of RosesRose flower
  is found in different colors and it is
  fascinating to note that each of these different
  Rose colors have been assigned different meanings
  by the society. Hence one needs to be careful
  while presenting rose to someone.
• Red Roses - Love and passion White Roses -
  True love, purity of the mind and
  reverenceYellow Roses - Friendship, celebration
  and joy Pink Roses - Friendship or Sweetheart,
  admirationPeach Roses - Desire and excitement or
  appreciation Lilac Roses - Love at first sight
  and enchantmentCoral Roses - DesireOrange Roses
  - Enthusiasm and desireBlack Roses - Farewell or
  "It's Over"Bouquet of Red and Yellow Roses
  Happiness and celebrations Bouquet of Red and
  White Roses Bonding and harmony Bouquet of
  Yellow and Orange Roses Passion

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Valentine's Day Symbols Valentine's Day Hearts

• Red heart pierced by the Cupid's arrow is a
  traditional symbol of Valentine's Day. Heart
  symbolizes love and giving someone a heart means
  to hand over one's existence to someone. A heart
  pierced by a Cupid's arrow means that when
  someone presents a heart, the person takes the
  risk of being rejected and feeling hurt. Piercing
  arrow therefore symbolizes death and
  vulnerability of love. Some people also believe
  that the heart and arrow symbolizes the uniting
  of male and a female.Today, one finds great use
  of red heart symbol especially heart shaped red
  balloons in Valentine's Day decoration. Stuffed
  red heart decorated with a lace is a popular
  Valentine's Day Gift.

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Valentine's Day Symbols Valentine's Day Hearts

• Origin of Valentine's Day Hearts
• Around 12th Century people were not aware the
  function of heart was to circulate blood inside
  the human body. What they knew was that heart
  begins to beat faster when a person is upset or
  excited. They, therefore, derived that heart was
  the seat of emotions and feelings. Poets too
  eulogized the role of heart in feelings of love
  and romance and over the years this make believe
  connection between heart and love became deep
  seated in the minds of people. Today, even though
  it has been scientifically proved that emotions
  come from the brain heart remains a powerful
  symbol of love and Valentine's Day.Wearing
  one's Heart on one's Sleeve
• The popular expression of 'Wearing one's heart
  on one's sleeve' comes from the tradition
  prevalent in America and Britain around 1800s. At
  that time, young men used to wear slips of paper
  pinned on their sleeves and had their
  girlfriend's name written on it.

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• Winged and mischievous little angel called Cupid
  is one of the very famous Valentine's Day
  Symbols. The symbol traces its origin from the
  Roman mythology where Cupid has been described as
  the son of Venus - the Goddess of Love. It is
  believed that Cupid had a bow with a quiver of
  arrows and anyone hit by Cupid's arrow did not
  die but fell in love. According to a myth, it was
  Cupid's mother Venus who used to send him on such
  errands.
• In Greek mythology, Cupid is known by the name
  of Eros and as the son of Aphrodite - the Greek
  Goddess of Love. In Roman and Greek mythology
  Cupid is always shown as a youth and not as a fat
  baby with wings. In Latin, however, the meaning
  of the word Cupid' is desire. Latin mythology
  shows Cupid as a chubby, naked, winged boy or
  youth with a mischievous smile and as someone who
  made people fall in love.
• In certain mythologies it is said that anyone
  shot with a Cupid's arrow falls in love with the
  first person he/she sees. It is also said that
  Cupid's arrow was invisible to his victims so
  that they would not be aware that they were shot
  until they fell in love. Several legends have
  used this mischief of Cupid to create hilarious
  situations.

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• Lovebirds and Doves are an endearing and
  prominent Valentine's Day symbols. The symbol
  traces its origin from a belief in the olden
  times that birds found their mate on February 14.
  Interestingly, lovers across the world till date
  hold on to this belief. Reason why doves and
  lovebirds are considered strongly as a symbol of
  Valentine's Day is that while doves signify
  purity, innocence and humbleness picture of
  lovebirds conjures up the vision of couple in
  love.

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• About Doves
• A special characteristic of doves and pigeons is
  their extreme loyalty to their mates. Unlike most
  other animals that go from partner to partner,
  doves remain with one partner all through their
  life. This is why, doves are recognized as a
  symbol of love and loyalty on Valentine's Day.
• According to a myth, Roman Goddess Venus
  considered dove as sacred because of its fidelity
  towards mate. Cooing sound made by birds is
  linked to love sound attributed to lovers. For
  this reason, when lovers talk in flowery and
  sugary language to each other they are said to be
  'cooing'.

• About Lovebirds
• It is said that blue colored lovebirds got their
  names because they sit closely to each other just
  like people who are in love do. People say that
  lovebirds can't think of their lives without
  their mates. Besides, lovebirds are known to
  keeping in pairs and keeping to themselves just
  as the young lovers want to live in privacy.
  Nowadays, lovebirds that are depicted on
  Valentine's Day are tiny parrots in bright
  colors. This is because lovebirds are genetically
  from parrot family.

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• Love knot is yet another symbol of Valentine's
  Day. Representing love that will last forever,
  love knots are actually a series of winding and
  intertwining loops that have neither a beginning
  nor an end. Valentine's Day symbol of Love
  Knots traces its origin to early Arab traditions.
  Young Muslim women living in strict orthodox
  households used to express love to young men
  through secret messages woven through the knots
  of a carpet. Lovers read the messages by turning
  the knot around and around. The tradition of
  sending messages through the knots gave birth to
  the concept of love knots that exist even to this
  day.
• Some people believe the custom of love knots
  began with the sailors several years ago. This is
  because sailors were skilled at making fishnets
  and so making intricate knots was their forte.

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• Laces and ribbons are a delicate Valentine's Day
  symbol. Their association with love and romance
  can be traced to ancient times. At that time when
  kings and knights went to battles their ladylove
  presented laces to them.
• There is yet another reason attributed to
  popularity of Laces as Valentine's Day symbol.
  Hundreds of years ago ladies used to carry lace
  handkerchief. If at times a lady accidentally
  dropped her hanky, courtesy demanded that the man
  standing near the lady pick up the handkerchief
  for her. Sometimes, ladies used to drop their
  handkerchiefs deliberately in front of the man
  they liked and wanted to meet. Lace therefore
  became a tool in the hands of ladies to encourage
  romance. Gradually, people began to associate
  lace with romance and started using paper lace to
  decorate chocolate boxes and Valentine cards.
  Even in present times laces are used in
  Valentine's Day Decoration and Cards.

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Valentine's Day in Present Times

• Valentines Day in present times has become a huge
  craze especially amongst the youth in countries
  around the world. Those in love start planning
  for the Valentine's Day celebrations with
  sweetheart days before the festival while those
  without a lover start looking for a date so that
  they are able to celebrate the day in the
  much-romanticized manner. Hype for the festival
  is further built up by the media and the rigorous
  advertising campaign run by the cards and gifts
  marketers.

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• Love is ... a tender feeling,Love is ... a
  way of being,Love is ... just showing someone
  you care.Love is ... helping with the
  dishes,Love is ... feeding your pet fishes,Love
  is ... just giving from your heart.Love is so
  very simple, It's not a mystery. When you treat
  those around you The very same way You want
  them to treat you.Love is ... your baby
  sister,Love is ... playing with her,Love is ...
  holding her when she cries. Love is ... sharing
  your candy,Love is ... being all that you can
  be, Love is ... lending a helping hand when
  someone needs you.Love is ...L-?- V- ELove is
  ...For you and me.Oh! Love is the greatest
  thing in the world.

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• ??????? ?., ???????? ?.?. Holidays GO Round and
  Round. American Holidays Traditions, Poems,
  Songs ??????? ??????? ??? ???????? ?????
  ????????? ?????????? ????. ???. ??????,
  1998.
• ???????????? ? ????? ??????? ?., ???????? ?.?.
  Holidays GO Round and Round. American Holidays
  Traditions, Poems, Songs ??????? ??????? ???
  ???????? ????? ????????? ?????????? ????. ???.
  ??????, 1998.
• http//ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/????_???????_????????
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• http//www.stvalentinesday.org/
• http//images.yandex.ru/