Valentine

他最后一次送给我的这张贺卡如今仍保存在我的记事牌上。

它提醒我父亲是多么地不同寻常，以及这些年来对我是多么地重要，我知道我有这样一位父亲，他以慷慨的胸怀、朴素的理解和一生中向他的亲人表达祝福的能力，来保持着爱的传统。

My Forever ValentineThe traditional holidays in our house when I was a child were spent timing elaborate meals around football games. My father tried to make pleasant chitchat and eat as much as he could during hal ftime. At Christmas he found time to have a cup or two of holida y cheer and do his holly-shaped bow tie. But he didn't truly shine until Valentine's Day.I don't know whether it was because work at the office slowed during February or because the football season was over. But Vale ntine's Day was the time my father chose to show his love for the special people in his life. Over the years I fondly thought of him as my " Valentine Man."My first recollection of the magic he could bring to Valentine's Day came when I was six. For several days I had been cutting o ut valentines for my classmates. Each of us was to decorate a " m ailbox " and put it on our desk for others to give us cards. That b ox and its contents ushered in a succession of bittersweet memoriesof my entrance into a world of popularity contests marked by the number of cards received, the teasing about boyfriends/girlfriends a nd the tender care I gave to the card from the cutest boy in class.That morning at the breakfast table I found a card and a gift-w rapped package at my chair. The card was signed " Love, Dad" , and the gift was a ring with a small piece of red glass to represen t my birthstone, a ruby. There is little difference between red glass and rubies to a child of six, and I remember wearing that ring wi th a pride that all the cards in the world could not surpass.As I grew older, the gifts gave way to heart-shaped boxes fille d with my favorite chocolates and always included a special card si gned " Love, Dad" .In those years my " thank-yous" became more of a perfunctory response.The cards seemed less important, and I t ook for granted the valentine that would always be there. Long pas t the days of having a " mailbox" on my desk, I had placed my h opes and dreams in receiving cards and gifts from " significant oth ers" , and " Love, Dad" just didn't seem quite enough.If my father knew then that he had been replaced, he never let it show. If he sensed any disappointment over valentines that didn' t arrive for me, he just tried that much harder to create a positiveatmosphere, giving me an extra hug and doing what he could to m ake my day a little brighter.My mailbox eventually had a rural address, and the job of han d-delivering candy and cards was relegated to the U.S.Postal Servic e. Never in ten years was my father's package late--nor was it on t he Valentine's Day eight years ago when I reached into the mailbo x to find a card addressed to me in my mother's handwriting.It was the kind of card that comes in an inexpensive assortmen t box sold by a child going door-to-door to try to earn money for a school project. It was the kind of card that you used to get from a grandmother or an aging aunt or, in this case, a dying father. It was the kind of card that put a lump in your throat and tears in your eyes because you knew the person no longer was able to go out and buy a real valentine. It was a card that signaled this woul d be the last you receive from him.The card had a photograph of tulips on the outside, and on the inside my mother had printed " Happy Valentine's Day" . Beneath it, scrawled in barely legible handwriting, was " Love, Dad" .His final card remains on my bulletin board today. It's a remin der of how special fathers can be and how important it had been t o me over the years to know that I had a father who continued atradition of love with a generosity of spirit, simple acts of understa nding and an ability to express happiness over the people in his lif e.Those things never die, nor does the memory of a man who n ever stopped being my valentine.永远的情人节当我还是小孩子的时候，我们家过传统节日时总是把精心准备的节日餐安排在足球赛时间。

Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a ball.
Roman Roots
The history of Valentine's Day is obscure, and further clouded by various fanciful legends. The holiday's roots are in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration commemorated annually on February 15. Pope Gelasius I recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day circa 496, declaring February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day.
教皇想纪念哪个圣瓦伦丁？这还是个谜。根据天主教百科全书，至少有3个早期的基督教圣徒叫圣瓦伦丁。其中一个是罗马的牧师，另一个是特里尼的教皇，还有一个，人们除了知道他死在非洲外，几乎一无所知。更令人惊异的是，据说三个瓦伦丁都于2月14日殉教。
Most scholars believe that the St. Valentine of the holiday was a priest who attracted the disfavor of Roman emperor Claudius II around 270. At this stage, the factual ends and the mythic begins. According to one legend, Claudius II had prohibited marriage for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies but was eventually apprehended by the Romans and put to death. Another legend has it that Valentine, imprisoned by Claudius, fell in love with the daughter of his jailer. Before he was executed, he allegedly sent her a letter signed "from your Valentine." Probably the most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not focused on Eros (passionate love) but on Agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion.

• 多为男性向女性送礼物,互赠鲜 花以致深情蜜意。
Differences
Freanc
法国
• Men will give some surprise to wemen.
• 男性会为女性做些浪漫的事，女 性不必太费心。
Differences
Italy
意大利
• Girls will wating for her Mr. right stand by the window.
CUSTOMS
• Do you know the meaning of rose quantities
CUSTOMS
• 1 rose: love at first sight, you are the only one. • 2 roses: Mutual feelings, a commitment, an engagement or coming marriage. • 3 roses: I love you. • 9 roses: I will love you forever. • 10 roses: You are pretty. • 11 roses: You’re my treasured one.
• 女孩会站在窗口等待命中注定的 情人出现。
Differences
America
美国
• Outing，singing，and put presents on their favorite girl's doorstep. • 一起游玩，唱歌，将礼物放
在自己钟情的女子家门口， 按动门铃后立即躲开
Differences
CUSTOMS
• 100 roses:100% love, I’m totally devoted to you. • 101 roses: Best of all, you’re my one and only. • 108 roses: Proposal, Will you marry me? • 365 roses: I love you every single day. ll last till the end of time.

• Whatever the odd mixture of origins,St.Valentine's Day is now a day for sweethearts.It is the day that you show your friend or loved one tht you care.You can send candy to someone you think is special.Or you can send roses,the fthat Valentine was imprisoned,he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer.His love for her,and his great faith,managed to miraculously heal her from her blindness before his death.Before he was taken to his death,he signed a farewell message to her,"From your Valentine."The phrase has been used on his day ever since.
2月14日也是罗马人为表示对女神的敬意而庆祝的节日。年轻的男子随便挑选一个年 轻女子的名字，该女子便赔他度过这个节庆。中世纪时，在这个日子里选择意中人 的习俗传遍了整个欧洲，然后又传到了早期的美洲殖民地。千百年来，人们一直相 信鸟儿在2月14日选择配偶。
在公元496年，圣徒罗马教皇盖拉西厄斯1世把2月14日命名为“瓦伦丁节”（情人 节）。虽然这不是一个官方节日，但大数美国人都很重视这一天。
在"情人节"确立前800年，罗马人就已经有了一项在2月中旬举行的异教徒 庆典活动，年轻人通过庆典来纪念卢帕克斯神。这项庆典的特点是进行抽 签，让年轻的男子从盒子里抽取十几岁少女的名字。通过这种方式分配给 每一位年轻男子的女孩就成了他那一年的女伴。