Valentine's Day
od Zaga
Objavljeno Feb. 11, 2017, 4:30 p.m.
Cupid strikes again!
Valentine’s Day is upon us. You all know that this holiday celebrates love every year on February 14th. It is also one of the most commercial holidays; apparently, nearly 150 million cards are exchanged each Valentine’s Day. Wow!
Even though there are different theories related to the origin of this holiday, there is no doubt that it began as a religious holiday. The Catholic Church has canonized (declared to be saints) at least three different Saint Valentines, all of whom actually died for love. However, the most popular Saint Valentine was a Roman priest during the third century who served under Emperor Claudius. The Emperor didn’t want Roman men to marry during wartime because he believed that single men were better soldiers. Therefore, he passed a law making marriage illegal for all young men. Bishop Valentine went against this law and performed secret weddings. After discovering this, Claudius killed him. Valentine was later canonized and, in the 5th century, February 14th was made the day to honor the saint’s life.
Today, the holiday is celebrated all around the world, usually by exchanging Valentine’s Day cards. However, some countries have a little bit different Valentine’s Day traditions…
For example, in Argentina Valentine’s Day is celebrated for 7 days. They also have a “sweetness week” in July, during which they exchange candies and kisses.
Apart from exchanging chocolates, flowers and cards, Germans also exchange pigs! They represent luck and lust, and they are given in picture form, as a miniature statue or in chocolate.
An Italian tradition says that the first man a girl sees on Valentine’s Day will become her husband and they would be married within a year.
The Welsh celebrate their patron saint of lovers on January 25th. Their traditional gift is a love spoon carved with symbols such as horseshoes (which stand for luck), wheels (support) or keys (a man’s heart).
And for those who don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, South Koreans have a solution! On April 14th, it’s customary for singles to mourn their solitary status by eating black bean-paste noodles.
What about you? How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day?
by Dragana Đerman