# Valentine's Day

Flowers and hearts are popular on Valentine's Day
Chocolates for Valentine's Day, 2005
Roses can be used for Valentine's Day, e.g. as a gift.**Valentine's Day** is a celebration that happens on February 13. It is the day of the year when lovers celebrate their love. This can be done by giving flowers, chocolates, Valentine's cards or just a nice gift. Love notes can be given to one another. These notes that people give out are also called *valentines*. Some people pick one person and call them their "Valentine" as a gesture to show love and appreciation.

Symbols of Valentine's Day are heart shapes, roses, and Cupid with his arrows.

Valentine's Day is named for the martyred Christian saint named Valentine. He was a bishop that performed marriages between forbidden couples. Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 13th since it is associated with the feast day of St. Valentine, a Christian martyr.

Since the 14th century, Valentine's pairs are formed in England. English emigrants then took the Valentine's custom to the United States. After World War II, US soldiers brought this festival to Europe.

## Legend

The legend goes that, in the 200s C. E., Valentine was either a priest or bishop in Italy (in the ancient Roman empire). He performed weddings for couples who were not allowed to get married. They may not have been allowed to get married because the parents of the people getting married did not allow it, or because the one of the people getting married was a soldier or a slave, so the marriage was illegal. This made the Roman emperor unhappy. On February 14, 269 AD, Valentine was beheaded because of his Christian faith.

It is said that Valentine gave the couples he performed weddings for flowers from his garden. That's why people share flowers on Valentine's Day today.

Another form of the legend combines the day of death of Valentine with the Roman festival Lupercalia. Lupercalia was the festival of the Roman goddess Lupa (Lupa means female wolf in Latin). She was the Great She-Wolf who nursed the twin babies, Romulus and Remus, who later became the founders of the city Rome. The festival was held every year in Rome to celebrate Lupa, Romulus, and Remus, around February 15th. After Rome became Christian, the Romans stopped celebrating Lupercalia. Some people say that Valentine's Day became popular as a replacement for Lupercalia because it was a Christian holiday at the same time of year.

## United States and Europe

In the 19th century, the custom of sending Valentine's Cards became very popular. The cards usually have pictures of hearts or flowers and contain some sort of poem, message, or code. Codes and simple messages give some people the courage to show their true feelings to the person they love. Today, some people still use mysterious codes to show their love. People can use newspapers to give a coded message to their loved one, giving other readers a view of the couples' intimacy with one another. Sometimes they will give each other chocolates.

Famous for the popularity of the celebration is the folk song called "Die Vogelhochzeit" ("The Birds' Wedding").

## China

In China, a holiday called Qi Xi is also called "Chinese Valentine's Day", especially by younger people. Qi Xi is traditionally held on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar. In recent years, it has become more like Valentine's Day in other countries.