情人節的傳統和習俗

情人節的傳統和習俗

　　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(ài)的節日，隨著(zhù)新大陸的開(kāi)發(fā)，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(kāi)花。

　　年輕人是圣Valentine節當之無(wú)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(ài)慕之情。癡情的姑娘可能會(huì )按照古老的傳說(shuō)，在圣Valentine節前夜把月桂樹(shù)葉放在枕頭上，盼望在夢(mèng)中同自己的心上人相會(huì )。

　　現在情人節已經(jīng)不單是情人們的節日，也是各種朋友之間交換感謝的一個(gè)日子，是一個(gè)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(ài)戴的人贈禮物和卡片。Valentine‘s Day就是這樣一個(gè)充滿(mǎn)愛(ài)情和友誼的歡樂(lè )節日。

【情人節的傳統和習俗】相關(guān)文章：

清明節的傳統習俗和食物02-14

冬至的傳統習俗和養生知識04-11

關(guān)于元宵節的傳統習俗和由來(lái)是什么03-25

寒露的傳統習俗10-10

除夕的傳統民間習俗06-10

除夕的傳統習俗09-06

除夕傳統習俗12-15

傳統習俗作文02-16

立夏的由來(lái)和習俗07-04

端午的由來(lái)和習俗07-10