情人节的来历

情人节的由来

版本1：Valentine’sday是情人节在英语里的叫法。从字面上来看，很难看出中西方叫法之间有什么联系。这里面隐藏着一个动人的故事。

大约在公元3世纪的罗马，那时恺撒已经死去快三百年了，暴君Claudius当政。当时，罗马内外战争频仍，民不聊生。为了补足兵员，将战争进行到底，Claudius下令，凡是一定年龄范围内的男子，都必须参加罗马军队，以生命为国家效劳。自此，丈夫离开妻子，少年离开恋人。于是整个罗马便被笼罩在绵长的相思中。对此，暴君大为恼火。为了达到自己的目的，他竟然下令禁止国人举行结婚典礼，甚至要求已经结婚的毁掉婚约。

然而，暴政禁止不了爱情。就在暴君的国都里，居住着一位德高望重的修士，他就是Valentine�我们的主人公。他不忍看到一对对伴侣就这样生离死别，于是为前来请求帮助的情侣秘密地主持上帝的结婚典礼。一时间，这一令人振奋的消息在整个国度传开，更多的情侣秘密地赶来请求修士的帮助。

但是，事情很快还是被暴君知晓了，于是他再一次显示了残暴面目——将修士打进大牢，最终折磨致死。修士死的那一天是2月14日，公元270年的2月14日。

人们为了纪念这个敢于与暴君斗争的人，渐渐地使得2月14日成为一个节日。很多世纪过去了，人们再也记不得Claudius的大名，再也记不得他的权杖与宝剑，但依然会纪念Valentine修士，因为那个日子是Valentine’sday�是情人节。

版本2：在古罗马时期，2月14日是为表示对约娜的尊敬而设的节日。约娜是罗马众神的皇后，罗马人同时将她尊奉为妇女和婚姻之神。接下来的2月15日则被称为“卢帕撒拉节”，是用来对约娜治下的其他众神表示尊敬的节日。

在古罗马，小伙子和少女的生活是被严格分开的。然而，在卢帕撒拉节，小伙子们可以选择一个自己心爱的姑娘的名字刻在花瓶上。这样，过节的时候，小伙子就可以与自己选择的姑娘一起跳舞，庆祝节日。如果被选中的姑娘也对小伙子有意的话，他们便可一直配对，而且最终他们会坠入爱河并一起步入教堂结婚。后人为此而将每年的2月14日定为情人节。

版本3：一本英语辞典上注释说，范泰伦节（情人节）2月14日，来源于古罗马的牧神节。据说鸟类在这一天开始交配。那时的风俗是：在牧神节期间，每个青年男子从一只盒子里抽签，盒子里放的是写有青年女子姓名的条子。抽到谁，谁就成为那个青年男子的心上人。后来这个节日改为纪念一位叫瓦伦丁的基督教圣徒。

古罗马青年基督教传教士圣瓦伦丁，冒险传播基督教义，被捕入狱，感动了老狱吏和他双目失明的女儿，得到了他们悉心照料。临刑前圣瓦伦丁给姑娘写了封信，表明了对姑娘的深情。在他被处死的当天，盲女在他墓前种了一棵开红花的杏树，以寄托自己的情思。这一天就是2月14日。现在，在情人节里，许多小伙子还把求爱的圣瓦伦丁的明信片做成精美的工艺品，剪成蝴蝶和鲜花，以表示心诚志坚。姑娘们晚上将月桂树叶放在枕头上，希望梦见自己的情人。通常在情人节中，以赠送一枝红玫瑰来表达情人之间的感情。将一枝半开的红玫瑰作为情人节送给女孩的最佳礼物，而姑娘则以一盒心形巧克力作为回赠的礼物。

据说，巧克力成份之一苯基胺能引起人体内荷尔蒙的变化，跟热恋中的感觉相似。

　　12月14日是什么情人节？

12月14日，是“拥抱情人节”。英文是hug day。

这一天，可以在公开的场合拥抱恋人，向世人宣告你们的爱情，也让寒冷的冬天变得格外温馨。这一天，想和你的恋人拥抱多久都可以。

12月14日是一年的最后一个情人节了，从二月十四日的情人节起，爱情经过了时间的见证，得到了朋友和家人的祝福和认同，进入到比较稳定的热恋阶段，终于可以大大方方的向全世界公开恋情，接受所有人的祝福了。

　拥抱情人节的由来

约在公元三世纪的罗马，那时恺撒已经死去快三百年了，暴君克劳多斯(Claudius)当政。当时，罗马内外战争频仍，民不聊生。为了补足兵员，将战争进行到底，克劳多斯下令，凡是一定年龄范围内的男子，都必须进入罗马军队。自此，丈夫离开妻子，少年离开恋人。于是整个罗马便被笼罩在绵长的相思中。对此，暴君大为恼火。为了达到自己的目的，他竟然下令禁止国人举行结婚典礼，甚至要求已经结婚的毁掉婚约。

然而，暴政禁止不了爱情。就在暴君的国都里，居住着一位德高望重的修士，他就是瓦沦丁(Valentine)，他不忍看到一对对伴侣就这样生离死别，于是为前来请求帮助的情侣秘密地主持结婚典礼。一时间，这一令人振奋的消息在整个国度传开，更多的情侣秘密地赶来请求修士的帮助。

但是，事情很快还是被暴君知晓了，于是他再一次显示了残暴面目——将修士打进大牢，最终折磨致死。修士死的那一天是2月14日，公元270年的2月14日。

　人们为了纪念这个敢于与暴君斗争的人，渐渐地使2月14日成为一个节日。很多世纪过去了，人们再也记不得克劳多斯的大名，再也记不得他的权杖与宝剑，但依然会纪念瓦沦丁修士，因为那个日子是Valentine's Day，是情人节。

情人节，又叫圣瓦伦丁节或圣华伦泰节（St Valentine's Day），即每年的2月14日，是西方的传统节日之一。男女在这一天互送巧克力、贺卡和花，用以表达爱意或友好。

关于情人节的起源，大致有2种不同说法：

说法一：

公元3世纪，罗马帝国皇帝克劳迪乌斯二世在首都罗马宣布废弃所有的婚姻承诺，当时是出于战争的考虑，使更多无所牵挂的男人可以走上争战的疆场。一名叫瓦仑廷（Sanctus Valentinus）的神父没有遵照这个旨意而继续为相爱的年轻人举行教堂婚礼。事情被告发后，瓦仑廷神父先是被鞭打，然后被石头掷打，最后在公元270年2月14日这天被送上了绞架被绞死。14世纪以后，人们就开始纪念这个日子。现在，中文译为“情人节”的这个日子，在西方国家里就被称为Valentine's Day，用以纪念那位为情人做主而牺牲的神父。

与此相关的其他传说，包括这位神父帮助天主教徒从罗马监狱里逃脱而被处死。

在这个神父在监狱里时，据说他送出了第一个“情人节”祝福。据说他爱上了曾来监狱看望他，狱长失明的女儿亚斯得莉斯，并奇迹地治好了她的眼睛，使之重见光明。在他临刑前，给女孩一封信，署名“from your Valentine”（这个表达现在还在使用）。尽管这些传说不真切，但是却表达了他的富有同情心、英雄气概、以及最重要的浪漫主义的人格。

说法二：

来源于古罗马的牧神节（Lupercalia Festival）

这个说法是基督教会庆祝这一天是为了把古罗马的牧神节（每年的2月15日庆祝，为了保佑人、田、牲畜的生产力）基督教化。在古罗马，2月春天的开始，被认为是纯洁的。按照一定的仪式打扫房屋，然后把盐水和一种小麦洒遍房间。

牧神节，是为了庆祝罗马的农神Faunus 和罗马的奠基人Romulus和Remus。这个节日开始时，Luperci的成员（也就是罗马祭司的一种）会聚集在一个神圣的山洞里。这个山洞被认为是还是婴儿的Romulus和Remus待过的地方。在这个洞里，他们由一头母狼，lupa，照料。祭司们会牺牲一头羊，为了生殖；一只狗，为了纯洁。

然后男孩子会把羊的皮撕成小条，蘸上神圣的血后，跑到街上用它轻轻的抽打女人和田里的庄稼。罗马的女人不仅不会害怕，反而会乐意被羊皮条接触，因为据说这样她们在这一年里就会生殖力旺盛。后来，根据传说，这个城市所有的女人会把自己的名字放到一个花瓶里。单身汉们会从里面选一个。这样这一年里，他们就是一对。通常他们会结婚。

教皇在大约公元498年宣布2月14日是情人节。罗马人的这种婚配方式被基督教徒认为是不合法的。中世纪时，在英国和法国，通常认为2月14日是鸟交配的季节。因此就把此日增加了一个内容，那就是它应该是一个浪漫的日子。最早的情人节礼物是奥尔良的公爵，查理斯在伦敦塔狱中写给他妻子的诗。因为他在Agincourt战役中被俘虏了。现在这个写于1415年的祝福被收藏在伦敦的大英博物馆。几年以后，英皇亨利五世雇John Lydgate写了一首曲子给Catherine of Valois作为情人节礼物。

Saint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day is on February 14 It is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other; sending Valentine's cards or candy It is very common to present flowers on Valentine's Day The holiday is named after two men, both Christian martyrs named Valentine The day became associated with romantic love in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished

The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines" Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards The US Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas The association estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines[1]

In the United States, the marketing of Valentine's Day has tagged it as a "Hallmark holiday" A recent trend has been to refer to February 14 as Singles Awareness Day

At least three early Christian Roman martyrs named Valentinus are known (see Saint Valentine for more details) In the two most prominent Valentinus traditions, represented by late fictionalized acta that were both included in Bede, the martyrs were venerated on the same day, February 14, though the years, as they represent two traditions, varied according to the source[2] An overview of attested traditions relevant to the holiday is presented below, with the legends about Valentine himself discussed in the end

[edit] February fertility festivals

It has been hypothesised [specify][citation needed] that Graeco-Roman holidays devoted to fertility and love might be related to St Valentine's Day, since there is some correspondence between the time when they were celebrated

On the ancient Athenian calendar, the period between mid-January and mid-February was the month of Gamelion, dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera

In Ancient Rome, February 15 was Lupercalia Plutarch wrote:

Lupercalia, of which many write that it was anciently celebrated by shepherds, and has also some connection with the Arcadian Lycaea At this time many of the noble youths and of the magistrates run up and down through the city naked, for sport and laughter striking those they meet with shaggy thongs And many women of rank also purposely get in their way, and like children at school present their hands to be struck, believing that the pregnant will thus be helped in delivery, and the barren to pregnancy[5]

The word Lupercalia comes from lupus, or wolf, so the holiday may be connected with the legendary wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus Priests of this cult, luperci would travel to the lupercal, the cave where the she-wolf who reared Romulus and Remus allegedly lived, and sacrifice animals (two goats and a dog) The blood would then be scattered in the streets, to bring fertility and keep the wolves away from the fields [6] Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome The more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning "Juno the purifier "or "the chaste Juno," was celebrated on February 13-14 Pope Gelasius I (492-496) abolished Lupercalia Some historians [specify][citation needed] argue that Candlemas (then held on February 14, later moved to February 2) was promoted as its replacement, but this feast was already being celebrated in Jerusalem by AD 381 The pope also declared in 496 that the feast of St Valentine would be on February 14

[edit] Chaucer's love birds

A portrait of English poet Geoffrey Chaucer by Thomas Hoccleve (1412) The earliest known link between Valentine's Day and romance is found in Chaucer's poetryThe first recorded association of Valentine's Day with romantic love is in Parlement of Foules (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer:[3]

For this was on seynt Volantynys day

Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese [choose] his make [mate]

This poem was written to honor the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia[7] A treaty providing for a marriage was signed on May 2, 1381[8] (When they were married eight months later, he was 13 or 14 She was 14)

On the liturgical calendar, May 2 is the saints' day for Valentine of Genoa This St Valentine was an early bishop of Genoa who died around AD 307[9][10] Readers incorrectly assumed that Chaucer was referring to February 14 as Valentine's Day However, mid-February is an unlikely time for birds to be mating in England[4]

Chaucer's Parliament of Foules is generally set in a supposed context of an old tradition, but in fact there was no such tradition before Chaucer The speculative explanation of sentimental customs, posing as historical fact, had their origins among eighteenth-century antiquaries, notably Alban Butler, the author of Butler's Lives of Saints, and have been perpetuated even by respectable modern scholars Most notably, "the idea that Valentin'e Day customed perpetuated those of the Roman Lupercalia has been accepted uncritically and repeated, in various forms, up to the present"[5]

[edit] Medieval and modern times

Swedish calendar showing St Valentine's Day, February 14, 1712Using the language of the law courts for the rituals of courtly love, a "High Court of Love" was established in Paris on Valentine's Day in 1400 The court dealt with love contracts, betrayals, and violence against women Judges were selected by women on the basis of a poetry reading[11][12]

The earliest surviving valentine is a fifteenth-century rondeau written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his "valentined" wife, which commences

Je suis desja d'amour tanné

Ma tres doulce Valentinée… (Charles d'Orléans, Rondeau VI, lines 1–2)

At the time, the duke was being held in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt, 1415[6]

Valentine's Day is mentioned ruefully by Ophelia in Hamlet (1600-01): "Tomorrow is Saint Valentine's Day"

In 1836, relics of St Valentine of Rome were donated by Pope Gregory XVI to the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland In the 1960s, the church was renovated and relics restored to prominence[13]

In the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feastday of Saint Valentine on 14 February was removed from the General Roman Calendar and relegated to particular (local or even national) calendars for the following reason: "Though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on 14 February"[7] The feast day is still celebrated in Balzan and in Malta where relics of the saint are claimed to be found, and also throughout the world by Traditionalist Catholics who follow the older, pre-Vatican II calendar

Valentine's Day postcard, circa 1910

Tree decorated for Valentine's DayValentine's Day was probably imported into North America in the 19th century by British settlers In the United States, the first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland (1828-1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts Her father operated a large book and stationery store, and she took her inspiration from an English valentine she had received Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual "Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary"

In the second half of the twentieth century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manner of gifts in the United States, usually from a man to a woman Such gifts typically include roses and chocolates In the 1980s, the diamond industry began to promote Valentine's Day as an occasion for giving jewelry

The day has come to be associated with a generic platonic greeting of "Happy Valentine's Day"

In some North American elementary schools, students are asked to give a Valentine card or small gift to everyone in the class The greeting cards of these students often mention what they appreciate about each other

[edit] The evolving legend

The Early Medieval acta of either Saint Valentine were excerpted by Bede and briefly expounded in Legenda Aurea,[8] According to that version, St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead Because of this, he was executed Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer

Legenda Aurea still providing no connections whatsoever with sentimental love, appropriate lore has been embroidered in modern times to portray Valentine as a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to Roman Emperor Claudius II, allegedly ordering that young men remain single The Emperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers The priest Valentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men When Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine arrested and thrown in jail On the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he wrote the first "valentine" himself, addressed to a young girl variously identified as his beloved,[9] as the jailer's daughter whom he had befriended and healed,[10] or both[11] It was a note that read "From your Valentine"[9]

In another apparently modern embellishment[citation needed], while Valentine was imprisoned, people would leave him little notes, folded up and hidden in cracks in the rocks around his cell He would find them and offer prayers for them