Transcript Document
Ye. R. Sibirina
Valentine's Day - the popular
festival of love and romances
traces its origin to ancient
Roman festival and has not
been created by card
companies as some people
believe it to be. There are
various legends associated
with the festival along with
the belief that birds began to
mate from this day.
Popularity of the Valentine's
Day festival stems from the
combined effects of all these
legends, beliefs and of
course the wish to glorify the
unparalleled feeling of love.
Historians trace the origin of Valentine's Day to
ancient Roman Empire. It is said that in the
Rome of ancient times people observed a
holiday on February 14th to honor Juno - the
Queen of Roman Gods and Goddesses. The
Romans also regarded Juno as the Goddess of
Women and Marriage. On the following day,
February 15th began the fertility festival called
'Feast of Lupercalia'. The festival of Lupercalia
was celebrated to honor the Gods Lupercus and
Faunus - the Roman God of Agriculture besides
the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and
Remus
The story goes that during the
reign of Emperor Claudius II
Rome was involved in several
bloody and unpopular
campaigns. Claudius found it
tough to get soldiers and felt the
reason was men did not join
army because they did not wish
to leave their wives and families.
As a result Claudius cancelled all
marriages and engagements in
Rome. A romantic at heart priest
of Rome Saint Valentine defied
Claudius's unjustified order.
Along with Saint Marius, St
Valentine secretly married
couples. When his defiance was
discovered, Valentine was
brutally beaten and put to death
on February 14, about 270 AD.
After his death Valentine was
By the Middle Ages,
Valentine assumed the
image of heroic and
romantic figure amongst
the masses in England and
France. Later, when
Christianity spread
through Rome, the priests
moved Lupercalia from
February 15 to February
14. Around 498 AD, Pope
Gelasius declared
February 14 as St.
Valentine's Day to honor
the martyr Valentinus and
to end the pagan
celebration.
During the Middle Ages,
people in England and France
held a belief that birds
started to look for their mate
from February 14. This
popular notion further helped
to link Valentine's Day celebrated in the middle of
the February, with love and
romance. Over the period of
time, St Valentine became
the patron saint of lovers and
they began to celebrate
Valentine's Day as a day of
romance by exchanging love
notes and simple gifts such as
flower.
Valentine's Day festival gradually
grew in popularity amongst the
masses due to the combined
effect of all the above said
reasons. To mark the day lovers
began to exchange love notes
called ‘Valentines' with their
sweethearts. In the beginning
the trend was to send handmade
cards but this was changed in the
beginning of 19th century and
mass-produced greeting cards
caught the fancy of the people.
In the course of time, Valentine's
day came to be regarded as the
festival that celebrates love and
not just romantic love. Today,
Valentine's Day cards are gifted
to teachers, parents, friends,
siblings and sweethearts.
Popularity of Valentine's Day has
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.
Euphoria for Valentine's Day can
be felt days before the festival
when the market places start
exuding the spirit of the
romantic festival. Shops selling
cards, flowers and other
romantic gifts can be seen
decked with Valentine's Day
symbols of hearts, cards, rose
and cupid. In modern times,
jewelers too, try to lure lovers
with attractive schemes and bold
displays of innovate and eyecatching jewelry. Florists, who
get their best business in this
time of the year, lure customers
with big and beautiful bouquets
of exotic flowers.
In present times, Valentine's
Day is not restricted to
romantic couples. The
festival has come to be known
as the day to celebrate love
that can be in any form.
People therefore take
opportunity of the occasion
to wish ‘Happy Valentine's
Day' to their friends, parents,
siblings, teachers or anyone
they consider special.
Children too celebrate
Valentine's Day by organizing
concerts and classroom gettogethers
The most popular way of
celebrating Valentine's Day is
to go for a romantic date
with sweetheart. One can
find parks and restaurants
thronged by lovers holding
hands and expressing love.
Valentine's Day special
parties are also organized by
hotels and discotheques to
give the lovers an
opportunity to celebrate.
These days, romantic
getaways are turning out to
be extremely popular way of
celebrating Valentine's Day.
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.
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.
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, Valentine's 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 Valentine's
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.
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.
Valentines is near
Just wishing you were here
You will always be near
My heart will never be the
same
Beneath my skin, my soul lies
waiting for you
Everyday I think of you I feel
blue
Never give up hope
Remembering the first kiss
All I ask is to be with you
And for you to be my
Valentine
For I will always cherish your
heart in mine
After so many years of loving you,
After so many things we've been
through,
Still I couldn't find the reason,
Tell me why am I in so much love
with you?
The day you left me,
My eyes couldn't stop crying.
The day I lost you,
A day didn't go I had pray for dying.
Come back my love,
Someone's still waiting for you.
Come back my love,
Someone will always wait for you.
Are we friends,
Are we not.
You told me once, but I forgot.
So tell me now and tell me
true,
So I can say I'm here for you.
And if I die before you do,
I'll go to heaven and wait for
you.
I'll give the angels back their
wings,
And risk the loss of everything.
Just to prove my friendship is
true,
Just to have a friend like you.
Love doesn't make the world go round,
love is what makes the ride worthwhile.
Elizabeth Browning
Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and
embroidered by imagination.
Voltaire
Love is an irresistible desire to be
irresistibly desired.
Robert Frost
Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a
tender look which becomes a habit.
Peter Ustinov
Love is the expansion of two natures in
such fashion that each include the other,
each is enriched by the other.
Felix Adler
After a quarrel, a wife said to her husband, "You know, I was a fool
when I married you." And the husband replied, "Yes, dear, but I was in
love and didn't notice it."
---------------------------------------------------A couple came upon a wishing well. The wife leaned over, made a wish
and threw in a penny. The husband decided to make a wish, too but he
leaned over too much, fell into the well, and drowned. The wife was
stunned for a moment but then smiled, "It really works!"
---------------------------------------------------If you want your wife to listen and pay strict attention to every word
you say, talk in your sleep.
----------------------------------------------------
When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of
one thing: either the car is new or the wife.
----------------------------------------------------
Without Love -- days are sad day, moan
day, tears day, waste day, thirst day,
fright day, shatter day. So be in love
everyday...Wish you a Happy Valentines
Day.
---------------------------------------------If I could die early I would ask God if I
could be your guardian angel, so I could
wrap my wings around you and embrace
you whenever you feel alone.
---------------------------------------------Let's share the world
A sea is for you, and waves are for me.
The sky is for you, and stars are for me.
The sun is for you, and light is for me.
Everything is for you, and you are for
me.
Ingredients
1 package cream cheese
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 container thawed whipped topping
1 prepared graham cracker crust
1 Can cherry pie filling
Method
Beat the cream cheese and the sugar in a
mixture until mixed.
Add vanilla essence and mix for 2-3
minutes.
Gently, fold the mixture in whipped
topping.
Transfer mixture into the pie crust and top
it with the cherries.
Refrigerate and serve it after one hour.
Ingredients
180 gm: Plain milk chocolate
1 tbsp or 15 gm: Butter
1 tbsp: Rum or orange liquor
(optional)
3 no: Eggs - separated
Chocolate curls for garnish
4 bowls or cup: To set the mousse
Method
Break the chocolate into smaller
pieces.
Place the chocolate and butter in a
double boiler or in a bowl placed in a
bigger bowl with hot water.
Leave thus till the chocolate melts,
stirring constantly.
When melted and smooth, remove
from heat, and beat in the egg yolks
and rum.
St Valentine's Day party is keenly
awaited by guests and more so by
sweethearts and kids. So do something
special to make the do memorable and
delightful for all. Here are some
interesting Valentine's Day Decoration
ideas to make your Valentine's Day
Party more enlivening and enjoyable!
As the symbolic colors of Valentine's Day is
red, pink and white you may make these
colors the theme of your party. You may
play with these colors to set the mood of
the party and have decorations planned
with candles and heart-shaped balloons in
these colors. It would be fun if you could
also persuade guests to come dressed in
Valentine's Day colors. If it is an all girls'
party, pink would by a pretty choice.
Dim lights can be used to give a mellow feel. A
more romantic idea would be to have the party
room illuminated with lots of red, white and pink
candles. You will of course, need to be extra
careful with the candles.
You may plan decorations with red and white
roses or other flowers in Valentine's Day color of
red, white and pink. Flowers floating in a glass
bowl look romantic and give a very pleasant
feeling.
You may decorate the venue with
cardboard Cupids hanging from the
ceiling or have paper Cupids decorate
the wall. Another interesting idea
would be to have someone come to the
party dressed as a Cupid or an angel.
This party Cupid may sprinkle hearts
with candy and a love message on the
invitees. He may also sweetly scare
them with toy bow and arrow.
Hearts are a major Valentine's Day symbol
and your decoration will be incomplete
without some hearts strewn about. Heartshaped balloons look awesome and
consider them a must for romantic party.
A balloon bouquet in the corners of the
room and on doorstep is another splendid
Valentine's Day decoration idea. Fill some
balloons with helium to let them rest on
the ceiling in your party room with the
curling string hanging below them. Litter
the rest of the balloons on the floor. You
may also decorate the hall with paper
hearts and have some hanging from the
ceiling. Red cardboard hearts can also be
used to decorate the tables.
A nice idea would be to cover
the table with a white
tablecloth or sheet and
sprinkle it with candy hearts
and candy kisses. Sequins
may also be used for extra
color and sparkle. Chairs may
be decorated with pink tulle
and a fluffy bow may be tied
at the back
You may have pictures of lovebirds
and dove to decorate the walls. You
may also wrap the pictures already
hanging on your walls with pink
wrapping paper and pretty bows to
look like presents.
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.
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.
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.
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'.
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.
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.