Valentine's Day is the real story of the holiday. What kind of holiday is Valentine's Day and how is it celebrated in Russia?

Or Valentine's Day. Since the 1990s, this holiday has become popular in Russia.

Initially, the celebration of the memory of St. Valentine was established as a veneration of his martyrdom, without any connection with the patronage of lovers. At the dawn of Christianity, three people bearing the name Valentin died as martyrs for their faith. All that is known about the first of them is that he died in Carthage along with a group of fellow believers.

The second Valentine was the bishop of Interamna (now the city of Terni, Italy), he was executed during the persecution of Christians and buried along the Via Flaminia in the vicinity of Rome.

The third martyr, Presbyter Valentinus, was beheaded between 268 and 270 and buried along the Via Flaminia. The relics of Prester Valentine rest partly in Rome, partly in Dublin, and the relics of the bishop are in the city of Terni.

During the reform of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1969, the celebration of Valentine's memory as a pan-Church saint was abolished on the grounds that there was no information about this martyr, except for the name and information about beheading by the sword. In the Catholic liturgical calendar, February 14 celebrates the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius.

In the Orthodox Church, both martyrs Valentine have own days commemoration. Valentine the Roman, a presbyter, is venerated on July 19, and the Hieromartyr Valentine, Bishop of Interamna, on August 12.

The history of the emergence of the image of St. Valentine as the patron saint of lovers dates back to the Middle Ages and their romantic literature, and not to the circumstances of the lives of real martyrs who died at the dawn of Christianity.

The day of February 14 in England and Scotland was accompanied by a peculiar custom. On the eve of Valentine's Day, young people gathered and put tickets with the names of young girls written on them in an urn. Then everyone took out one ticket. The girl whose name was given young man, became his “Valentine” for the coming year, just as he became her “Valentine”. This meant that a relationship arose between the young people for a year, similar to those that, according to descriptions of medieval novels, arose between a knight and his “lady of the heart.” This custom was of pagan origin.

According to the custom established since ancient times, young men on this day sent their beloved gifts, as well as letters and poems in which they expressed their feelings and wishes.

The very first Valentine's card in the world is considered to be a note sent from prison in the Tower of London in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, and addressed to his wife.

Valentine cards were very popular in the 18th century, especially in England. They were exchanged as gifts. The lovers made cards from multi-colored paper and signed them with colorful ink. By the beginning of the 20th century, as printing technology improved, printed cards began to replace handwritten ones.

Today is Valentine's Day in the form of hearts, with declarations of love, marriage proposals or just jokes.

Italians call February 14 a sweet day and give sweets and candies. Valentine cards are sent by mail in a pink envelope without a return address.

In Denmark they usually send dried white flowers to each other, and in Spain it is considered the height of passion to send a love letter by carrier pigeon.

Valentine's Day has been celebrated in Japan for decades now. This is not so much a declaration of love as a sign of attention. Friends exchange chocolate sets specially released for this day; many Japanese women buy “Valentine” chocolate for themselves. IN last years the fashion for giving chocolate has reached primary schools and even kindergartens.

Giving chocolate on Valentine's Day is also common in South Korea, with only women giving gifts to their men. For the men closest to them, South Korean women make chocolate with their own hands.

Valentine's Day: history of the holiday, who Valentine is, in what year Valentine's Day appeared, traditional gifts.

Valentine's Day: history of the holiday

It is believed that Valentine's Day has existed for more than 16 centuries, but the holidays of Love have been known since even earlier times - since the times of ancient pagan cultures.

For example, the ancient Romans celebrated a festival of eroticism called Lupercalia in mid-February, in honor of the goddess of love, Juno Februata.

In ancient times, Rus' had its own holiday - Valentine's Day, which was celebrated at the beginning of summer - it is associated with the legendary love story of Peter and Fevronia and is dedicated to Kupala - the pagan Slavic god, the son of Perun.

Valentine's Day: who is Valentine?

Unfortunately, documented data about Saint Valentine has not survived to this day. It could be either a martyr from Rome - a Christian priest, or a generous philanthropist who donated huge sums for the construction of churches.

The most beautiful legend about Saint Valentine, which is passed down from mouth to mouth, says: during the reign of Emperor Claudius II in the Roman Empire - approximately 269 - the emperor’s army lacked soldiers for military campaigns. To increase the size of the army, the emperor issued a decree calling up soldiers for military service. Even marriage did not save you from service - according to this decree of the emperor, legionnaires were forbidden to marry.

Tradition says that at that time a young priest and skilled physician, Valentin, lived in Rome, adding wine, milk and honey to his mixtures for the sick. A jailer who had a blind daughter learned about his medical skill. Although her blindness seemed incurable to Valentine, he prayed for her healing and prepared medicines, and the longer he worked, the more he fell in love with the blind girl. Unable to help her, he tried to be useful topics lovers who were separated by the cruel decree of the emperor, secretly marrying them in the temple.

For this, Valentin was imprisoned and sentenced to death. The night before his execution, he wrote a note to his beloved: “I’m sorry. Your Valentine,” and wrapped a saffron flower in it. A miracle happened: the blind girl was able to read the words and see the flower.

Apparently, this is why it became customary to write love notes on Valentine’s Day - “Valentines” - notes to people dear to your heart in the shape of hearts.

Valentine's Day: in what year did the holiday appear?

The roots of the holiday - Valentine's Day - are pagan. In some regions, February 14th was called Bird Wedding Day, because at this time birds pair up to build nests.

In 496, Pope Gelasius I declared February 14th Valentine's Day.

In the 17th century in France, the historian Tillemont, and later in the 18th century in England, Butler and Douce, suggested that Valentine's Day was introduced to replace the pagan rite of choosing the names of lovers at random on the eve of the feast of the goddess Juno, celebrated on February 15.

In Western Europe, Valentine's Day began to be widely celebrated since the 13th century, in the United States - since 1777.

Valentine's Day: what to give to your loved ones?

Traditionally, on Valentine's Day, lovers give each other “Valentines” - notes about their feelings, written on paper in the shape of a heart.

Traditional gifts for Valentine's Day are sweets - marzipan, candy and chocolate. Fresh flowers packed in a heart-shaped bouquet will also be a wonderful gift for your loved one.

It is very symbolic on Valentine's Day, on Valentine's Day - to propose marriage to your beloved girl on this day - your beloved will never forget such a gift!

Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day, February 14 - History, traditions and legends.

An interesting story about Valentine's Day for children and adults.

On February 14, Valentine's Day is celebrated - the patron saint of all lovers. This is the most romantic holiday in a world where everyone confesses their love to each other, gives touching gifts and valentines to your beloved ones. For more than eighteen centuries there has been a tradition of celebrating this holiday. Despite the fact that the name of the holiday contains the word “holy,” it has nothing to do with religion, since it is a secular holiday. However, we associate February 14th with St. Valentine.

The history of the holiday Valentine's Day. The story of Valentine's Day. Who is Valentin?

There are a lot of legends and rumors about Valentine's Day. So who is Saint Valentine who presented this holiday as a gift to the whole world?

There is an opinion that in fact there were two Saint Valentines, who were venerated on the same day and died in Ancient Rome in the year 269 (270?). But now no one reliably remembers which of them the holiday was dedicated to. What is known is that one of the saints, a younger one, served in Rome as a preacher and worked as a doctor. During the persecution of Christians by Emperor Claudius, he was executed. Another Valentine, Bishop of Terni, lived near Rome and died a martyr’s death at the hands of the pagans in the same year 269 (270?).

Much in the legends about St. Valentine converges and intertwines, but each of them has some kind of peculiarity that makes it different from the others.

Most versions converge on the first Valentine, who was a preacher and physician and lived in the 3rd century in the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Claudius. A difficult and cruel fate befell him. The fact is that the warrior emperor issued a decree according to which his soldiers could not marry in order to have joy family life did not distract them from their service. Valentin ignored Claudius's ban and married the lovers in secret. For these illegal acts he was captured and imprisoned.

The priest's jailer, having learned that the prisoner, among other things, had the gift of healing, brought his blind daughter to him. Valentin healed the girl, the young people fell in love with each other, but their happiness was not destined to work out - Valentin was executed.

However, the day of his death - February 14 - remained forever in people's memory as a symbol of the all-conquering power of love. It is also symbolic that the date of the execution of Saint Valens coincided with the Roman festivals in honor of the goddess of love Juno. Subsequently, Valentine was buried in Rome (according to other sources, some of his relics are located in his homeland in the city of Terni, and some are in the Church of St. Anthony in Madrid). It is not surprising that they did not forget about Valentine and chose him as the patron saint of all people in love. As a Christian martyr who suffered for the faith, he was canonized by the Catholic Church. In 496, Pope Gelasius declared February 14th Valentine's Day.

Since then, every year on February 14, people remembered Valentine and organized a Valentine's Day. On this day, girls and boys got together, wrote names on pieces of paper and threw these pieces of paper into a jug, then each pulled out one piece of paper and found out the name of their lover.

How everything really happened, we don’t know and will never know, but one thing is obvious - St. Valentine died in the name of love.

There is another version of the origin of the holiday. According to it, Valentine's Day originated from the Roman holiday of Lupercalia, celebrated in honor of the god Faun (Lupercus), the patron saint of flocks. The celebration took place annually on February 15th. In ancient times, on this day all the Romans stopped what they were doing and started having fun. Over time, the holiday changed, new rituals appeared.

The main task that everyone had to accomplish on this day was to find their soul mate. So after the end of the holiday, a large number of new families were created.

Traditions of celebrating Valentine's Day in different countries

Over time, Valentine's Day acquired its own rituals, some of which have survived to this day. In each country, the traditions were different, although what was common and unchanged for all peoples and times was that it is very popular to arrange weddings and get married on this day.

Some beliefs also say that on this holiday, a woman can approach a man dear to her and politely ask him to marry her. If the young man is not yet ready to take such a decisive step, then he should politely thank for the honor and give the woman a silk dress, and buy himself a silk cord with a heart strung on it.

In other countries, the tradition of donating clothes is somewhat modified. Thus, lovers give clothes to unmarried women as gifts. If a girl accepts and leaves a gift, it means she agrees to marry this person.

IN different times V different countries There were various beliefs. For example, the first man a girl meets on this day should be her Valentine, regardless of his wishes.

Some people believed that if a girl saw a robin on Valentine's Day, then her husband would be a sailor; if she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man, but be happy with him; and if she saw a goldfinch, she would become the wife of a millionaire.

Valentine's Day in England

In medieval England, this custom was popular: several guys got together, wrote the names of girls on pieces of paper, put them in a hat and drew lots. The girl whose name fell to the young man became his “Valentina” for a year, and he became her “Valentine”.

“Valentine” had to treat his “Valentine” in a special way: compose sonnets in her honor, play the lute, and was also obliged to accompany the girl everywhere; in a word, behave like a real knight.

There was a tradition of dressing children up as adults. Having been reincarnated in this way, the children went from house to house and sang songs about St. Valentine.

Nowadays, the British understand love somewhat differently; this concept has expanded, since Valentine's Day is congratulated not only on people, but also on beloved animals, for example, horses or dogs.

In Wales, on February 14, in the old days, wooden “love spoons” were carved, which they then gave to their loved ones. The spoons were decorated with various hearts, keys and keyholes, which said: “you have found the way to my heart.”

Valentine's Day in America

The Americans also had their own traditions. At the beginning of the 19th century, on Valentine's Day, they sent marzipan products to their brides. However, the treat included sugar, which was very expensive in those days. This custom became truly widespread after sugar beets began to be processed in 1800. The Americans urgently set up caramel production on the continent and began scratching words corresponding to the holiday onto the sweets. Caramels were made in red and white, since red symbolized passion, and white symbolized the purity of love. In the 50s of the 19th century, sweets began to be placed in heart-shaped cardboard boxes.

Valentine's Day in Japan

In Japan, Valentine's Day began to be celebrated in the 1930s. This tradition did not start on its own, but at the instigation of one large company engaged in the production of chocolate. Chocolate, by the way, is still the most common gift on this day.

Nowadays, the Japanese have turned this holiday into “March 8 for men.” On this day, gifts in Japan are received mainly by representatives of the stronger sex. And, accordingly, it is customary to give various men’s accessories; razors, lotions, brushes, etc.

And on this day, the residents of Japan hold an event called “The Loudest Love Confession” - boys and girls climb onto the platform and take turns shouting love confessions with all their might.

How Valentine's Day is celebrated in other countries

The French customary to give gifts on Valentine's Day Jewelry. And the romantic French were the first to introduce “Valentines” as love letters and quatrains.

Balanced and calm Poles prefer to visit on this day

Poznan metropolis, where, according to legend, the relics of St. Valentine rest, and above the main altar is his miraculous icon. The Poles believe that if you pray to the image, it will definitely help you in your love affairs.

In Italy, Valentine's Day is celebrated very differently. Men of this country consider it their duty to present their beloved with gifts, mainly sweets, on this holiday. This is most likely why in Italy this day is called “sweet”.

Conservative Germans adhere to the point of view that Valentine is the patron saint of the mentally ill, so on this day they decorate psychiatric hospitals with scarlet ribbons and hold special services in chapels.

This is interesting information for children about the history and traditions of Valentine's Day.

This holiday came to Russia several years ago. And now Valentine's Day is celebrated almost as joyfully and widely as New Year. Valentines - small heart postcards sent by traditional mail, email and text messages, romantic gifts, declarations of love and endless kisses - this is what accompanies this holiday. And it’s wonderful that we now have this holiday.

It is believed that Valentine's Day has existed for more than 16 centuries, but the holidays of love have been known since even earlier pagan times. And Rus' had its own Valentine's Day. It was celebrated not in winter, but in early summer. This holiday was associated with the legendary love story of Peter and Fevronia and was dedicated to Kupala - the pagan Slavic god, the son of Perun.

From the history of the holiday

The holiday also has a specific “culprit” - the Christian priest Valentin. This was around 269. At that time, Emperor Claudius II ruled the Roman Empire. The warring Roman army needed many soldiers for military campaigns. And the emperor believed that the main enemy of his grandiose military plans were married legionnaires who thought more about how to feed their family than about the glory of the Roman Empire. To preserve the military spirit in the army, Claudius II issued a decree prohibiting legionnaires from marrying.

But no decrees can stop love! Fortunately for the legionnaires, there was a man who, without fear of the imperial wrath, began to secretly marry them to their lovers. It was a priest named Valentine from the Roman city of Terni. Valentin was probably a great romantic. He not only entered into marriages, but also reconciled those who had quarreled, helped them write Love letters. At the request of the legionnaires, he gave flowers and gifts to their beloved ones. The emperor, having learned about this, sentenced the priest to execution. Valentin himself was in love with the jailer’s daughter. On the day of his execution, he wrote a farewell letter to his beloved and signed it “Your Valentine.” The girl read the letter after the execution.

Whether all of this is true or fiction, it is thanks to this story that people started writing love notes on Valentine’s Day—valentines. They also like to hold weddings and get married on this holiday. It is believed that this will be the key to eternal love.

This holiday is very personal. If you want to make friends with someone, it doesn’t matter - a girl or a boy, but you are embarrassed to offer your friendship - this day is for you. Write him or her a card with a friend request and your phone number. There is no need to sign the postcard. It must be transmitted secretly, unnoticed. If they call you, it means they want to be friends, and if not, then it’s not destiny.

You can also make this day complete for your family. good surprises. The day before, cut out small hearts from paper, preferably red. Write your wishes and confessions on them.

For example: “Dear daddy, I love you very much. I enjoy spending time with you. Let’s go to the zoo together on Sunday,” “Dear grandma, you make the most delicious pancakes in the world! You have golden hands!”, “Dear mom! You are the most beautiful in the world! And you are also the kindest and gentlest. I love you so much!" etc.

These valentines should be discreetly placed in everyone's pocket or purse. Or attach it to the bathroom mirror. Your imagination will help you here.

You will give your loved ones not only good wishes, but also good mood for the whole day !

How Valentine's Day is celebrated in other countries.

In Japan, the most common gift on this day is chocolate.

It is noteworthy that Japanese men receive more gifts than women. And not only chocolate, but also lotions, wallets and other men's gifts.

In France, it is customary to give jewelry on Valentine's Day. That's how generous and passionate the French are!

In England, on February 14, unmarried girls get up before sunrise and look out the window at passers-by. According to legend, the first man they see is their betrothed.

Valentine's Day, which falls on February 14, has been celebrated in our country relatively recently, only a couple of decades, while in Europe it has long traditions and roots going back to the history of the ancient world.

How is Valentine's Day celebrated?

The external manifestations of this holiday are known to everyone: within a couple of weeks, all the counters are full of hearts of all shapes and sizes, everyone gives each other so-called “Valentines” - cards also made in the shape of hearts. Traditionally, most of them are anonymous, and the recipient is asked to guess who the sender is on their own. However, it is believed that these cards appeared much later than the holiday itself, which dates back about 18 centuries, while The first Valentine was received by the wife of the Duke of Orleans in 1415. He was in prison and decided this way in an original way show your love for your legal wife. Who would have thought that fashion for them would go so far and last so long! Some people gain courage and confess their love on this day. Many, in addition to traditional souvenirs, give something more significant, but this differs from the classic canons of the holiday.

The classic version of the origin of Valentine's Day

Today, probably only the lazy, or those who completely deny what is happening these days, do not know it. This story happened, as the legend says, because there is no documentary evidence for all the events described below, and it is unlikely that they existed, in 269 AD. Then Emperor Claudius II reigned, and Christianity was a very young religion. At that time, adherents of Christianity were still persecuted by fans of paganism, and Christian marriage, in modern understanding, almost did not exist. However, there was some Christian priest Valentine, who not only carried out the sacrament of Christian marriage - he married legionnaires for whom marriage ties were prohibited by the nature of their service in general. As legends say, the priest was not just a religious figure of that time, he was also involved in science and healing, and was also involved in resolving conflicts and quarrels between lovers. Some legends say that he was an ordinary ordinary priest, some believe that he held the rank of bishop, be that as it may, his activities did not go unnoticed by the authorities, and he went to prison, after which he was executed. Judging by some sources, love did not bypass him either, and already in prison he learned about this feeling that the jailer’s blind daughter had for the saint. She wrote him a letter where she confessed her ardent passion, but since the priest could not remove his vow of celibacy, all actions on his part were limited to a touching letter, which the girl received on the eve of his execution, on February 13. However, there is a more optimistic, but less realistic version, according to which Valentin and this girl had mutual feelings for each other. Moreover, on the night before the execution, using his knowledge in medicine, he cured his beloved of blindness, after which he went to the execution, which was carried out by cutting off her head with a sword. The priest who accepted death for his beliefs was canonized and made a saint, and since the 8th century in Western Europe, the 14th day of February was considered the holiday of all lovers. In America it began to be celebrated a little later, from 1777, and in Russia even more so: as already said, we became aware of it about 20 years ago.

The external attributes of the holiday remain almost unchanged throughout the entire time that it is celebrated: hearts, hearts and again hearts, in the form of candies, cards and souvenirs.

The meaning of the holiday has changed somewhat over time. So, in the Middle Ages in Britain, both in its English and Scottish parts, on this day they organized a kind of lottery, drawing out the name of their beloved for a year. Thus, the holiday was important not only for couples, but also for those who had not yet found happiness in love, and thus gave the latter hope for happiness. Today the official Catholic Church does not recognize Saint Valentine, and does not celebrate this day. The explanation is the lack of substantiated information on this issue, because all data regarding the circumstances of the case and the personality of the priest are in the nature of myths and fairy tales, and do not have documented sources. The only thing that is known is the method of execution of the priest. Guided by these data, or rather the lack thereof, the Catholic Church has excluded this holiday from the officially approved ones since 1969; it did not and does not support the traditions of its celebration. Today it is fashionable to get married on this day; it is believed that such a marriage will be strong and happy, and the love in it will be eternal.

Another version of the appearance of Valentine's Day

This option is not at all romantic, and therefore not popular. The origins of this version also date back to antiquity, and is due to the fact that earlier in mid-February it was Lupercalia celebration- a festival of female fertility, widely celebrated in ancient Rome. As part of the celebration, women stripped naked and exposed their bodies to the blows of whips, which were also distributed by naked Romans running through the streets of the city. It was believed that receiving your share of blows would ensure high fertility and an easy course of childbirth, which was especially valued given the level of medicine of that time. Rome, as a state, strongly encouraged the manifestations of this holiday, since it was believed that as a result, even the most hopeless representatives of the human race acquired the ability to bear children. In those days, infant mortality, both during childbirth and in the first year of life, was at a terrifying level, which more than once brought Rome to the brink of extinction. Such a holiday dedicated to the goddess of “feverish” love” and Faun, the patron saint of herds, each year led to a surge in the birth rate, which was welcomed by the state. With the advent of Christianity on the world stage, more than one holiday has been transformed and taken on a more civilized appearance. This custom did not bypass Lupercalia, where pagan roots were disguised under a civilized Christian veil. However, not all historians support this version; many of them believe that these two holidays are connected only in that they relate to love and coincide chronologically, having completely different origins and manifestations.

How Valentine's Day was celebrated at different times

Everyone knows how this day is celebrated today, but people did not come to this order right away, and in different countries it was celebrated in different ways.

England

In this country, as mentioned above, a kind of lottery was held on this day: on Valentine's Day, young people pulled out tickets with the names of their companions for the next year. Many couples created on this day later formalized their relationship; those who were unlucky got another chance the next year. This fun was the lot of the common people, and the aristocrats had fun on this day by trying to outdo each other with the pomp and wealth of gifts presented to their mistresses.

Giving wives gifts on Valentine's Day was considered the height of indecency. The first Valentine, however, was presented precisely in England, and specifically to the legal spouse, as mentioned above.

In general, this holiday in Britain was so popular that servants in rich houses could abandon their work in anticipation of mail with heartfelt messages, and not be subjected to severe punishment.

America

Until the 18th century, poverty and the accompanying Puritan morals reigned in this country, severely limiting the number of holidays and entertainment. For a long time they didn’t even celebrate Easter and Christmas, finding no direct permission in the Holy Scriptures to idle on this day. Even Thanksgiving was just a Presbyterian church day and was celebrated in a very low-key manner. Needless to say, Valentine’s Day did not fit into the strict and spartan way of those centuries, however, when the tradition of celebrating it with roses and cards gradually penetrated from overseas, Americans liked it. By that time, the country had already achieved a fairly good level of prosperity, and commerce joined in the production of hearts and other holiday accessories. Their production and sale were put on stream, and soon its celebration began to be carried out on a large scale.

Japan

In this country, Valentine's Day began to be celebrated after the end of World War II, when Japan, until that time completely closed from the rest of the world, began to transfer American and European traditions into its everyday life. However, here the celebration has its own characteristics: firstly, most gifts and souvenirs were made from chocolate, and secondly, historically it has developed that for the most part it was the day of men, they were mainly presented with sweet gifts. Currently, this trend has continued.

Do you know what no one will tolerate? Savings, even on small things! What is the best birthday greeting for a teacher? about this in our article. What kind of breakfast can you make for Valentine's Day if you don't know how to cook? We have prepared some simple recipes for you at the following address.

Germany

Valentine's Day also entered this country after the end of the war, and its celebration was mainly carried out in European traditions, but had its own twist. So from the beginning of the celebration it became customary that this day was not just a holiday for lovers, but also for those who intended to enter into legal marriage. On February 14, these young people had to come to the bishop of the area where they lived and ask him for an official blessing for marriage procedures. It was believed that such a marriage would be stronger and happier. Currently, the custom has been preserved only for religious couples, of which, however, there are many in Germany. In conclusion, we offer you a short video in which we will also learn a little about the traditions of celebrating Valentine's Day in Ancient Rome and how this is done in our time in different countries of the world. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-GH-hvEtvY