Many people around the world celebrate Valentine’s Day by showing appreciation for the people they love or adore. Some people take their loved ones for a romantic dinner at a restaurant while others may choose this day to propose or get married. Many people give greeting cards, chocolates, jewelry or flowers, particularly roses, to their partners or admirers on Valentine’s Day.
It is also a time to appreciate friends in some social
circles and cultures. For example, Valentine's Day in Finland refers to “Friend's
day”, which is more about remembering all friends rather than focusing solely
on romance. Valentine's Day in Guatemala is known as Day of Love and
Friendship). It is similar to Valentine’s Day customs and traditions countries
such as the United States but it is also a time for many to show their
appreciation for their friends.
Public life
Valentine’s Day is not a public
holiday in many countries, including Australia, Canada, the United
Kingdom and the United States.
However, restaurants, hotels and shopping centers may be busy around this time
of the year.
Background
The origins of Valentine's Day are not clear but many
sources believe that it stems from the story of St Valentine, a Roman priest
who was martyred on or around February 14 in the year 270 CE. How he became the
patron saint of lovers remains a mystery but one theory is that the church used
the day of St Valentine’s martyrdom to Christianize the old Roman Lupercalia, a
pagan festival held around the middle of February.
The ancient ceremony included putting girls’ names in
a box and letting the boys draw them out. Couples would then be paired off
until the following year. The Christian church substituted saints’ names for
girls’ names in hope that the participant would model his life after the saint
whose name he drew. However, it was once again girls’ names that ended up in
the box by the 16th century.
Eventually the custom of sending anonymous cards
or messages to those whom one admired became the accepted way of celebrating
Valentine’s Day. There was an increase in interest in Valentine's Day, first in
the United States and then in Canada, in the mid-19th century. Early versions
of Valentine cards fashioned of satin and lace and ornamented with flowers,
ribbons, and images of cupids or birds appeared in England in the 1880s.
Symbols
Hearts, the colors red and pink, roses, images and
statues of cupids, and cupids’ bows and arrows symbolize the feeling of romance
and love on Valentine’s Day. Cupid is usually portrayed as a small winged
figure with a bow and arrow. In mythology, he uses his arrow to strike the
hearts of people. People who fall in love are sometimes said to be “struck by
Cupid's arrow”. The day focuses on love, romance, appreciation and friendship.
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