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Valentine's Day
About holidays in English
 Significance
Love and affection celebrated between lovers
Date February 14
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's
Day, is a holiday observed on February 14 honoring one
or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine.
It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their
love for each other by presenting flowers, offering
confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines").
The day first became associated with romantic love in
the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages,
when the tradition of courtly love flourished. It was
first established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD, and was
later deleted from the General Roman Calendar of saints
in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.
Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped
outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid.
Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have
given way to mass-produced greeting cards.
Сценарии, поздравления, стихи о любви, сюрпризы,
игры
Saint Valentine
Historical facts
Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine.
The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of
Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni
(Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae). Valentine of
Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred about AD 269
and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at
the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome, and at Whitefriar
Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.
Valentine of Terni[9] became bishop of Interamna (modern
Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been martyred
during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian. He is
also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different
location than Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the
Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San
Valentino).
The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a third saint
named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies
under date of February 14. He was martyred in Africa
with a number of companions, but nothing more is known
about him.
No romantic elements are present in the original early
medieval biographies of either of these martyrs. By the
time a Saint Valentine became linked to romance in the
14th century, distinctions between Valentine of Rome and
Valentine of Terni were utterly lost.
In the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of
Saints, the feast day of Saint Valentine on February 14
was removed from the General Roman Calendar and
relegated to particular (local or even national)
calendars for the following reason: "Though the memorial
of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular
calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is known
of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via
Flaminia on February 14." The feast day is still
celebrated in Balzan (Malta) where relics of the saint
are claimed to be found, and also throughout the world
by Traditionalist Catholics who follow the older,
pre-Second Vatican Council calendar. February 14 is also
celebrated as St Valentine's Day in other Christian
denominations; it has, for example, the rank of 'commemoration'
in the calendar of the Church of England and other parts
of the Anglican Communion.
Legends
The Early Medieval acta of either Saint Valentine were
expounded briefly in Legenda Aurea. According to that
version, St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and
interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person.
Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion
with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman
paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused
and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead.
Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution,
he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing
the blind daughter of his jailer.
Since Legenda Aurea still provided no connections
whatsoever with sentimental love, appropriate lore has
been embroidered in modern times to portray Valentine as
a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to
Roman Emperor Claudius II, allegedly ordering that young
men remain single. The Emperor supposedly did this to
grow his army, believing that married men did not make
for good soldiers. The priest Valentine, however,
secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men.
When Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine
arrested and thrown in jail.
There is an additional modern embellishment to The
Golden Legend, provided by American Greetings to
History.com, and widely repeated despite having no
historical basis whatsoever. On the evening before
Valentine was to be executed, he would have written the
first "valentine" card himself, addressed to a young
girl variously identified as his beloved, as the
jailer's daughter whom he had befriended and healed. It
was a note that read "From your Valentine."
Сценарии, поздравления, стихи о любви, сюрпризы,
игры
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