English introduction to Valentine's Day

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February 14th is a complicated but interesting holiday. First of all, Valentine’s Day is not a day off from work; no one gets a day off. On this day, people usually send romantic cards to someone they love or want to be loved by. These cards are called “valentines.” They are very colorful, often decorated with hearts, flowers, or birds, and contain humorous or sentimental messages written inside. The main message in these messages is always “Be My Valentine,” “Be My Sweet Heart,” or “Lover.” Valentines can be sent anonymously, or sometimes they are signed with “Guess who?” – the recipient then has to guess who sent them, which can lead to interesting speculation. And that’s part of the fun of valentines. The loving message can also be conveyed through a heart-shaped box of chocolate candies or a bouquet of flowers tied with a red ribbon. But no matter what the form, the message remains the same: “Will you be my Valentine?” One of the symbols of St. Valentine’s Day is the Roman god of love, Cupid. Cupid is often depicted on these cards as a winged infant, naked, ready to shoot an arrow at a heart. He shoots arrows of love into people’s hearts to make them fall in love immediately, perhaps with the first person they meet. Sometimes one arrow can pierce two hearts, binding them together. So on February 14th, we see not only images of the Christian Saint Valentine but also those of the non-Christian Cupid, the Roman god of love. However, it is the Christians who have passed down the stories related to Valentine’s Day that most people know today. One such story involves a Christian man whose name sounded something like “Valentine.” He lived around the year 250 AD. At that time, the Roman Emperor Claudius refused to allow any Roman soldiers to get married for any reason. Christian couples would go to Valentine to get married, and he would perform the marriage ceremony in a Christian manner. He was eventually discovered and put in prison by the emperor. According to one tradition, he wrote messages to his friends by writing on leaves, which he then threw out of the window of his prison. Those leaves were shaped like hearts.