Valentine’s Day
Around the world
Valentine’s Day
th
14
February
• Yep, It’s that certain time of year again where girls go all mushy,
boys and girls spend all their pocket money and shop profits rise.
• All because we declare our undying love for each other.
€1
• In fact in Ireland alone we spend
million on cards, flowers
chocolates and other gifts for Valentine’s Day.
• But who was Valentine, what is love and
how is Valentine’s day celebrated around
the world?
Who was Valentine?
• Valentine was a Christian priest who
lived in Ancient Rome.
• In 270AD, the Emperor Claudius II
forbade marriage because he wanted
men to be able to concentrate on war
and not on their loved one.
• Valentine carried on marrying couples,
but only couples he thought were truly
in love.
• Emperor Claudius found out and
Valentine was executed on the 14th
February 270AD . As a result, he was
martyred and made a saint.
Others believe …
Valentine was a physician who lived during the time of Emperor Claudius. A
gastronomist, Valentine fell afoul of the Roman authorities when he converted to
Christianity, and subsequently began treating the blind daughter of one of the
Emperor's prison guards. Discovered, Valentine was arrested and executed when
he refused to renounce his religious beliefs. The condemned physician had fallen in
love with his blind patient, and just before his death - on February 14, in 269 or 270
AD - he is supposed to have sent her a note, signed "from your Valentine."
Britain
Denmark
Japan
India
China
In China
The Chinese also have a day devoted to love. Qi Qiao Jie, or the seventh
eve, is often referred to as Chinese Valentine's Day.
While the annual gift giving commonly associated with St. Valentine's Day
doesn't take place, there are several charming customs associated with this
romantic day for lovers.
Valentine's Day in China, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, falls
on August 15 this year.
That is, on Thursday evening, Niu Lang and Zhi Nu will meet on a bridge of
magpies across the Milky Way.
Chinese grannies will remind children that they would not be able to see
any magpies on that evening because all the magpies have left to form a
bridge in the heavens with their wings.
On this day Chinese girls prepare fruits, melons and incense as offerings to
Zhi Nu, the weaving maiden, praying to acquire high skills in needlecraft, as
well as hoping to find satisfactory husbands.
In the evening, people sit outdoors to observe the stars.
The Myth
Zhi Nu was said to be the youngest of seven daughters of the Queen of Heaven.
With her sisters, she worked hard to weave beautiful clouds in the sky, while Niu
Lang was a poor orphan, driven out of his home by his elder brother and his cruel
wife.
A cow was his only companion. The magical cow kindly told him of a way to find a
beautiful and nice woman as his life partner. He was told to visit the river…
He saw Zhi Nu bathing with her six sisters. Niu Lang took the dress of the
youngest sister and hid it, as he had seen her naked they must be married.
As Zhi Nu was a fairy they were only allowed to meet one day a year on the bridge
of magpies. This day is Valentine’s day.
Fairy Of The Magpie Bridge
Among the beautiful clouds,
Over the heavenly river,
Crosses the weaving maiden.
A night of rendezvous,
Across the autumn sky,
Surpasses joy on earth.
Moments of tender love and dream,
So sad to leave the magpie bridge.
Eternal love between us two,
Shall withstand the time apart.
One of the most famous poems about the legend was
written by Qin Guan of in the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
In Japan
In Japan, Valentine's Day is celebrated on two different dates...February 14 and March
14. On the first date, the female gives a gift to the male and on the second date...known
as White Day and supposedly introduced by a marshmallow company in the 1960s...
the male has to return the gift he received on February 14. Thus,
strictly
speaking, a Japanese female has the luxury of actually choosing
her own gift. Chocolate is the most popular gift in Japan. However, since most
Japanese females believe that store-bought chocolate is not a gift of true love, they tend
to make the confection with their own hands.
In Scotland
In Scotland, Valentine's Day is celebrated with a festival. At this festival, there is an
equal number of unmarried males and females, each of whom write their name (or
a made-up name) on a piece of paper which is then folded and placed into a
hat...one hat for the ladies and one for the men. The females then draw a name
from the hat containing the men's names and vice versa. Of course, it is highly
likely that the two drawn names will not match.
Gifts are given to the ladies. The females would then pin the name of their partner
over their hearts or on their sleeves. A dance often follows and, at the end of the
festival, it is not unusual for marriages to take place.
According to another Scottish custom, the first young man or woman encountered
by chance on the street or elsewhere will become that individual's valentine.
Valentine's Day gifts in Scotland are frequently given by both parties in the form of
a love-token or true-love-knot.
In Denmark
The Danish valentine day’s card known as a lover's card came in the form of a
transparency. When held up to the light showed a picture of a lover handing his love
a gift.
In Denmark, people swap poems and candy snowdrops. As well as some people
send love notes not serious love notes but, laughable notes which are called
gaekkebrev which are also referred to as joking letters. On the gaekkebrev, the
sender signs his or her name in dots.
If the receiver guesses the correct name then the sender will get a candy egg at
Easter time.
What is love?
• This is a question that has puzzled poets and philosophers
for many centuries. But all agree that love goes far beyond
giving each other presents once a year.
According to philosophers and poets Love is:
• Wanting to be there for each other through the good times
and growing stronger together through the bad;
• Putting the other person before you, because you’d rather
see them happy;
• Feeling safe in each others company like nothing
can hurt or harm you when you are together.
Love is friendship, friendship is love.
If love fails, friendship should remain.
For friendship is the foundation of love.