Transcript St.Valentine’s Day History, Interesting Facts, Traditions

Презентацию подготовила:
Пикалева Елена Васильевна
учитель английского языка
МОУ АСОШ№2
г. Андреаполя Тверской обл.
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The celebrations of St.
Valentine's Day are steeped
in legends and mystery.
Who is this mysterious saint
and why do we celebrate this
holiday?
Shrine of St. Valentine in
Whitefriar Street Carmelite
Church in Dublin, Ireland
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One legend contends that
Valentine was a priest who
served during the third
century in Rome. When
Emperor Claudius II decided
that single men made better
soldiers than those with
wives and families, he
outlawed marriage for young
men.
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Other stories suggest
that Valentine may
have been killed for
attempting to help
Christians escape
harsh Roman prisons
where they were often
beaten and tortured.
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It is believed that Valentine fell
in love with a young girl —
who may have been his jailor's
daughter — who visited him in
the prison. Before his death,
the man wrote her a letter,
which he signed “From your
Valentine”, an expression that
is still in use today. It's no
surprise that by the Middle
Ages, Valentine was one of the
most popular saints in England
and France.
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Later, during the
Middle Ages, it was
commonly believed in
France and England
that February 14 was
the beginning of birds'
mating season, which
added to the idea that
the middle of February
— Valentine's Day —
should be a day for
romance.
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The first recorded
association of Valentine's
Day with romantic love is
in Parlement of Foules
(1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer.
This poem was written to
honor the first anniversary
of the engagement of King
Richard II of England to
Anne of Bohemia. When
they were married, they
were each only 15 years
old.
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There were other three
authors who made poems
about birds mating in Saint
Valentine's Day:
Otton de Grandson from
Savoy
John Gower from England
a knight called Pardo from
Valencia.
Due to the difficulty of
dating medieval works, we
can't know for sure who of
the four had the idea first
and influenced the others.
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In all legends there is one
thing- the presence of a
letter or a note to the
lover. Now they are called
"Valentines".
The peak of their
popularity, "Valentines"
reached in the eighteenth
century, particularly in
England. People used
colored paper and colored
ink.
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The first commercial
Valentine's Day greeting
cards produced in the
U.S. were created in the
1840s by Esther A.
Howland. She made
elaborate creations with
real lace, ribbons and
colorful pictures known
as "scrap".
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Approximately 150
millions Valentine's Day
cards are exchanged
annually, making
Valentine's Day the
second most popular
card-sending holiday
after Christmas.
Approximately 85% of
all valentines are
purchased by women.
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Handwritten poem, "To
Susanna" dated
Valentine's Day, 1850
(Cork, Ireland)
Esther Howland
Valentine, circa 1850:
"Weddings now are all
the go, Will you marry
me or no"?
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On Valentine's day
people traditionally give
flowers, best red roses as
the personification of
the sincere love and
white as a symbol of
purity and innocence,
and pansies, and sweets
in the form of hearts, or
packed in a beautiful
heart shaped box.
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Valentine's Day began to
be popularly celebrated
around the seventeenth
century. It was common
for friends and lovers to
exchange handwritten
notes. Ready-made cards
were an easy way for
people to express their
emotions in a time when
direct expression of one's
feelings was discouraged.
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Wales is famous for its
so-called "love
spoons". Before the
holiday lovers cut out
of wood a spoon,
decorate it with
hearts, keys and give
to each other. Such
present means: “You
have found a way to
my heart".
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In Russia there is the
holiday of family and loveIvan Kupala Day, which is
celebrated on July 8 and
associated with the
legendary love story of
Peter and Fevronia. Since
2008, 8 July is officially
declared in Russia as the
Day of family, love and
fidelity. Young people are
fond of foreign tradition
and celebrate Valentine’s
Day on February 14.
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In Iceland this holiday
symbolizes passionate
love.
There is an interesting
ritual in this country: the
girls hang on the neck of
the guys pieces of coal,
while those hang on theirs
small stones. The main
idea of this is that the head
off flames on the day Wali
while rubbing the stone on
the stone has a spark.
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In Denmark and Norway,
February 14 is known as
Valentinsdag.
It is not celebrated to a
large extent, and some
people take time to eat a
romantic dinner with their
partner, to send a card to a
secret love or give a red
rose to their loved one.
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In Sweden it is called Alla
hjärtans dag ("All Hearts' Day")
and was launched in the 1960s
by the flower industry's
commercial interests.
It is not an official holiday, but
its celebration is recognized and
sales of cosmetics and flowers
for this holiday are only
exceeded by those for Mother's
Day.
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In Finland Valentine's Day
is called Ystävänpäivä
which translates into
"Friend's day".
This day is more about
remembering all your
friends, not only your
loved ones.
In Estonia Valentine's Day
is called Sõbrapäev, which
has the same meaning.
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In Slovenia, St Valentine
or Zdravko was one of the
saints of spring, the saint
of good health.
It has been celebrated as
the day of the first work
in the vineyards.
Valentine's Day has only
recently been celebrated
as the day of love.
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In South Korea, similar to
Japan, women give
chocolate to men on
February 14, and men give
non-chocolate candy to
women on March 14 (White
Day).
On April 14 (Black Day),
those who did not receive
anything on the 14th of
February or March go to a
restaurant to eat black
noodles.
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In the first part of the 21st
century, the celebration of
Valentine's Day in Irain,
Saudi Arabian, Pakistan
has been harshly criticized
by Islamic. Religious
police banned the sale of
all Valentine's Day items,
as the day is considered a
Christian holiday. In 2008
this ban created a black
market of roses and
wrapping paper.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/
http://www.history.com/content/valentine/historyof-valentine-s-day
http://lib.adtm.ru/lib/history/the_valentines_day
http://www.genon.ru/
http://www.abc-people.com/shop/valentin.htm
http://www.millionpodarkov.ru/
http://dic.academic.ru/
http://origin.iknowit.ru/
http://www.sweden.se/