Navigations are at the top.
Valentine's Day .. Feb 14th ..
The day that couples are supposed to be closer, to give the other half a valentine's day gift.
The day that they are supposed to meet for an expensive dinner carrying an expensive one-day only bouquet of roses.
The day where the guy must always pay for the lady for everything they do.
The day where supposedly the person you are going out with is someone you should have interest with.
That is the day that should be not different from any other day.
They say the origin of Valentine's Day came from Rome. It's called Valentine's Day because the guy's name was Valentine, just like they name every other days over in the West.
If you were wondering .....
re are probably as many theories about the origin of the day as there are ways to celebrate. Listed below are some of them:
One legend says that Valentine was a priest in Rome during the third century. Once Emperor Claudius II determined that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine disobeyed the emperor and continued to perform marriage ceremonies in secret. Claudius ordered him put to death when his actions came to light.
Another tale suggests he fell in love with a young lady -- perhaps his jailer's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. It is believed that before his death he wrote a lettered signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still used today.
Different experts trace Valentine's Day to an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia, which took place on Feb. 15 to ensure protection from wolves. During the celebration, young men struck people with strips of animal hides. Women stood for the blows because they believed the whippings made them more fertile.
Others believe the Romans had a mid-February custom in which boys drew girls' names in honor of the sex and fertility goddess, Februata Juno; pastors "baptized" this holiday, like some others, by substituting the names of saints such as Valentine to suppress the practice.
Some maintain the customs of sending Valentines on Feb. 14 stems from a belief that birds began to pair on that date. By 1477, the English associated lovers with the feast of Valentine because, on that day, "every bird chooses him a mate," and men and women began writing love letters to their Valentines on this day.
In Great Britain, Valentine's Day gained in popularity around the 17th century.
By the middle of the 18th century, it was typical for friends and lovers in all social settings to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, due to improvements in printing technology, printed cards began to replace written ones. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their feelings during a time when direct expression was frowned upon.
It is believed that Americans began exchanging hand-made Valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland started selling the first mass-produced Valentines in the United States. Howland made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap."
Today, in the United States and Canada, young children exchange Valentines with their friends or create handmade ones for their parents, while dances and parties are popular with older students.
And many adults give flowers, candy or some other gift to their spouses or sweethearts.
In Europe, people celebrate Valentine's Day in many ways. British children sing special songs and receive gifts of candy, fruit or money. In some areas of England, people bake Valentine buns with caraway seeds, plums or raisins. People in Italy hold a Valentine's Day feast.
Sources: Carol Baine -- "Valentine's Day" World Book Online Reference Center at www.worldbookonline.com, World Book Inc.; the History Channel (www.historychannel.com); www.scrapalbum.com and www.catholic-forum.com.