Tuesday, February 14, 2006

14 Feb.. love is in the air.. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to all!

The story of "St. Valentine" begins with a Roman priest who resided in Rome during the 3rd century. During the reign of emperor Claudius II it was decided that all single men without families should be enrolled in the military and trained for duty. In an effort to continuously staff his army, the emperor outlawed marriage. As legend has it, Valentine, taking pity on young couples, defied the rule of the emperor and married couples in secret. In another account, Valentine was said to have been killed and thus martyred for helping Christians escape Roman prisons. While in prison he was said to have written a card or letter to his lover--rumored to be his jailor-s daughter--and signed it "From your Valentine."

While many believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated to commemorate the day of St. Valentine’s death or burial, it began as a Roman fertility festival called Lupercalia. "Lupercalia," which commenced on the Ides of February (the 15th) was dedicated to Fannus, the Roman god of agriculture, and Roman founders Romulus and Remus. The ceremony of Lupercalia took place in a cave where Romulus and Remus were believed to have been cared for by a female wolf or "lupa"--hence the festival’s name- "Lupercalia." In this ceremony, sacrifices of a goat for fertility and a dog for purification were made. The goat hide strips were dipped in blood. The sacrificial blood was then applied to both young women and food-producing fields in an attempt to ensure fertility of local women and crops. After the performance of this act, names of unmarried women would be placed in an urn. Their names would be drawn, and, based on this drawing, they were matched/paired with a resident male for the upcoming year. These unions typically resulted in marriage. Pope Gelasius, who declared that the "lottery" system of matching was un-Christian, later outlawed this practice. In its place the feast day of St. Valentine became a practiced, Christianized holiday.

The day itself of Valentine’s Day contains vestiges of both ancient Roman and Christian traditions.
This day did not become popularized as a holiday until the Middle Ages in England and France. Birds were thought to pair off and mate halfway through the month of February, thus adding to the Romantic appeal of this holiday.
Today the holiday of St. Valentine is celebrated in countries throughout the world, including Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Italy and Denmark.
Overall, approximately 163 million cards are exchanged and Valentine’s Day is considered to be the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (Second only to Christmas!).

No matter what, Valentine's Day is a day of love and devotion, a tribute to a festival founded with the intent of creating love and ensuring fertility, and to a man who gave all of himself to make others happy.

On this day in Korea, it's believed that girls will present their chocolates to their guy, and if that guy really likes the girl, on 14 March, the guy will then present the girl with a gift. How romantic~

So subtle.. it's a way of expressing love and...... rejecting love?

oinked on 1:21 PM