St Valentine's Day

St Valentine’s Day

I. Read and translate the texts

St Valentine’s Day comes on February 14. It is a happy little festival for young people. St Valentine is the patron of sweethearts. February 14 is the anniversary of his death.
- It is widely celebrated among people of all ages by exchange of “valentines”. A “valentine” may mean a special greeting-card or a little present. St Valentine’s Day is the time to send little gifts to those you love. Flowers and candy are favourite presents which sweethearts send to each other. Valentine candy is packed in red heart-shaped boxes and sold for this one day.
Valentines are special greeting cards. They are often coloured red, have pictures of hearts. Some “valentines” are trimmed with paper lace and little bows of paper ribbon. They have verses of love poetry printed on them.
- It is a good day for parties, especially by young people. Sandwiches and cakes are often cut in the shape of hearts. Sometimes, a King and Queen of Hearts are chosen for the evening of dance.
- It is a very interesting holiday and many people like to celebrate it.

2.Why do we celebrate this holiday?

We know many legends of how St. Valentine’s Day began.

This is a very popular holiday in Europe and America. It’s a day of love and friendship. We send greetings cards to our sweethearts and friends and ask them “be my Valentine”. It means “be my beloved”, or “be my friend”. We also decorate classrooms with big red hearts and give red roses and sweets to our sweethearts, friends and family.

What’s happened in this day many years ago?

According to one very popular legend, Valentine was a priest in Rome who lived during the

reign of Emperor Claudius II. It was a time of bloody battles. Soldiers were against of bloody battles. They did not want to leave their families and join the army. Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine - a romantic at heart priest, defied this decree of Claudius by secretly arranging marriages of young men and women. When Valentine's defiance was discovered by the Emperor, he was beaten up and put to death on February 14, about 270 AD. Valentine was named a Saint after his death.

Another famous legend on Saint Valentine states that Valentine was an early Christian in Rome who was very popular among children. But this time , Roman regime was not in favor of Christianity. In spite of this , Valentine refused to worship Roman Gods. The Emperor Claudius was angry and put Valentine into prison.
      Valentine spent a year in prison during which he was missed a lot by children. Children began to toss loving notes and flowers between the bars of his cell window. So, this legend may explain the tradition of exchanging notes and flowers on Valentine's Day

Most commonly observed Valentine's Day tradition and custom is expressing one's love with an exchange of cards, flowers and gifts. Pampering one's beloved and making a romantic proposal to one's sweetheart is the other popular tradition of the festival that celebrates love

3. Symbols of Valentine's Day.

The most commonly attached Valentine's Day Symbols are:

Roses, Hearts, Cupids, Lovebirds and Doves. Each of these Valentine's Day Symbols has an interesting story.

Rose is one of the most popular flowers and one of the most powerful symbols of Valentine's Day. It is a favorite flower for poets and romantic hearts. It means beauty, passion and love.

Lovebirds & Doves

It is said that blue colored lovebirds got their names because they sit closely to each other just like people who are in love do. People say that lovebirds can't think of their lives without their mates. Besides, lovebirds are known to keeping in pairs and keeping to themselves just as the young lovers want to live in privacy. Nowadays, lovebirds that are depicted on Valentine's Day are tiny parrots in bright colors. This is because lovebirds are genetically from parrot family.
About Doves
A special characteristic of doves and pigeons is their extreme loyalty to their mates. Unlike most other animals that go from partner to partner, doves remain with one partner all through their life. This is why, doves are recognized as a symbol of love and loyalty on Valentine's Day.

According to a myth, Roman Goddess Venus considered dove as sacred because of its fidelity towards mate. Cooing sound made by birds is linked to “love sound” attributed to lovers. For this reason, when lovers talk in flowery and sugary language to each other they are said to be 'cooing'.

Valentine’s Day Lace

Laces and ribbons are a delicate Valentine's Day symbol. Their association with love and romance can be traced to ancient times. At that time when kings and knights went to battles their ladylove presented laces to them.

Задания к текстам
I.Answer the questions

1.Where did Valentine’s Day come from?

2.Why is Cupid related to Valentine’s Day?

3.Who was Saint Valentine?

4.Who celebrated Valentine’s Day?

5.What are the most popular items to exchange during Valentine’s Day?

6.What symbols are associated with Valentine’s Day?

7.Why is Valentine’s Day celebrated on February 14 ?

II.Сопоставьте английские пословицы с русским переводом

St. Valentine’s Test

1.Where did St. Valentine live?

a) In Greece b)In Rome c) In Great Britain

2.What date is Valentine’s Day?

a) 15^th of February b) 14^th of February c) 8^th of March

3.How do you spell 14^th?

a)Forteenth b)Fourtienth c)Fourteenth

4.When St. Valentine was in prison, who did he fall in love with?

a)his prisoner’s daughter b)his prisoner’s wife c) his prisoner’s sister

5.The girl St. Valentine fell in love with was

a)Deaf b)Blind c) Blind and deaf

6.What colour is associated with St. Valentine’s Day?

a)Orange b)Purple c) Red

7.Which Roman God is one of the symbols of St. Valentine’s Day?

a) Eros b) Cupid c) Apollo

8.Which are the most common flowers given on St. Valentine’s Day?

a) Roses b)Sunflowers c) Snowdrops

9.What greeting is often said on this day?

a)Happy love lives! b)Good luck! c)Happy Valentine's Day!

10.What will you say to your sweetheart?