St. Valentine's Day falls on February 14th and is the traditional day on which lovers in let each other know about their love. They send Valentine's Cards, which are often anonymous, that is unsigned. The love notes that people make are in the form of "Valentines". Modern Valentine symbols include hearts and the figure of the winged Cupid.

In the 19th century lovers used to send notes with their own hand writing and now the tradition is mostly to exchange mass-produced greeting cards. Approximately one billion Valentine Cards are sent each year, making this day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. And 85 percent of those who buy "Valentines" are women.

Valentine's Day in the USA

Valentine's Day was probably imported into North America in the 19th century with settlers from Britain. In the United States in the second half of the 20th century, the practice of exchanging cards became more of giving gifts, usually from a man to a woman.

The history of Valentine's Day

The association of February 14th with love dates back to ancient times.

In Greece the time between the middle of January and the middle of February was the time of the marriage of Zeus and Hera.

In Ancient Rome, the day of February 15th was Lupercalia, the festival of Lupercus, the god of fertility, who was represented as half-naked and dressed in goat skins.

The first recorded association of St. Valentine's Day with romantic love was in the 14th century in England and France, where February 14th was traditionally the day on which birds paired off to mate. Lovers exchanged notes on that day called each other their "Valentines". But the connection between St. Valentine and romantic love is not mentioned in any early histories and is seen as pure legends. There are several versions of these legends.

  • On the evening before St. Valentine was to be martyred for being a Christian, he passed a love note to his jailer's daughter which read, "From Your Valentine."
  • During a ban on marriages of Roman soldiers by the Emperor Claudius II, St. Valentine secretly helped arrange marriages.

Перевод некоторых слов:

St. Valentine's Day – День Святого Валентина, День Всех Влюбленных, February 14th – 14 февраля, a lover – возлюбленный, a Valentine's Card – "Валентинка", anonymous – анонимный, a "Valentine" – "Валентинка", a heart – сердце, Cupid – Купидон, a holiday – праздник, a greeting card – поздравительная открытка, a gift – подарок, ancient times – древние времена, marriage – брак, Lupercalia – луперкалии (праздник в честь бога Луперка, покровителя стад в Древнем Риме), romantic love – романтическая любовь, a legend – легенда, a Christian – христианин, a love note – любовная записка, "From Your Valentine" – "от Твоего Валентина", Roman soldiers – Римские солдаты, to arrange marriages – организовывать браки