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Valentines Day and Chinese New year fall on same day
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Minggu, 7 February 2010 @ 14:30 WIB - Diari |
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Valentines Day and Chinese New year fall on same day, For the first time since 1900, Valentine’s Day falls on the same day as the Chinese New Year. This event won’t happen again until after 2030!
Valentines Day and Chinese New year fall on same day, This “Year of the Tiger” is suggested to be filled with passion and capable of great love. Take advantage of both holidays falling on the same day to attract new people, express love to family and friends or deepen love with spouses or partners. Even if you are not Chinese, the day can be full of fun, love and fresh starts along with broken New Year’s resolutions such as losing those few extra pounds.
February is the month of love. On Feb. 14 flowers, candy and cards are sent to loved ones in celebration of Valentine’s Day. There are many legends surrounding Valentine’s Day but most involve the Catholic priest, St. Valentine, who lived in Rome during the 3rd Century.
Roman Emperor Claudius II thought his soldiers should be single because they made better soldiers so he outlawed marriages for young men. This did not sit well with St. Valentine so he secretly married young couples. When the Emperor learned what Valentine was doing, he put him in prison.
According to legend, while Valentine was in prison he fell in love with the jailor’s blind daughter who visited him there. He sent the first Valentine to his object of affection just before he was put to death in A.D. 270. He signed the letter he wrote “From Your Valentine.” This makes a romantic story that may or may not be true.
Even if the story of St. Valentine is based on fact there is speculation as to why Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February. Some say it is to honor St. Valentine’s death while others believe the Christian Church was attempting to Christianize the pagan Lupercalia festival. February was considered the beginning of spring and the Romans celebrated with the young men’s rite of passage to the god Lupercus. A lottery was held in which the young men drew from a box, the name of a young girl who was to be his companion for a year and often married at the end of the year. Pope Gelasius tried to change the custom by putting the names of saints in the box instead of girls. Men and women both drew from the box and were supposed to try to be like the saint whose name they drew. In looking for a replacement for the pagan god Lupercus, St. Valentine was chosen as the patron saint of love. In about A.D. 498 Pope Gelasius selected Feb. 14 as St. Valentine’s Day.
The middle of February was believed to be the beginning of the mating season for birds so France and England thought that Valentine’s Day should be a day of romance. Charles, Duke of Orleans in 1415, while imprisoned in the Tower of London, sent his wife the oldest known Valentine in existence. By the 17th century Valentine’s Day was being popularly celebrated in Great Britain. In the early 1700s Americans were exchanging homemade Valentines. The first mass-produced valentines were sold in America in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland.
Today only Christmas ranks higher than Valentine’s Day in the number of cards sent. It is estimated that a billion Valentine cards are sent each year. Whatever the truth behind the legends, February for centuries has been the month of love.
I’m already planning our Valentine’s dinner, with recipes courtesy of Paula Deen (I’m a big fan of the Food Network). On the menu will be Shrimp and Scallop Lasagna, Broccoli and Water Chestnut casserole with cheese and a fresh fruit torte. Hope it turns out as good as it looked on the television!
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| Selasa, 28 November 2006 @ 14:38 WIB |
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