Saint Valentine’s Day   

St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries of the world on February 14. It is the day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines”).

     The legend of celebrating the St. Valentine’s Day has its roots deep in the Middle Ages. There is almost nothing known about the life of the real Christian Valentine (born in 3 century A.D. in the settlement Terni – Roman Empire). They say that he was a bishop, who helped young beloved to write love letters, made the peace of those who were in quarrel etc. Then he was arrested by order of Emperor Julius Claudius II, who did not allow his soldier to get married and Valentine married the legionaries secretly.

    Being in prison, he fell in love with the blind daughter of his executioner - and healed her. The other version says, that everything was in opposite: prison guard asked Valentine to cure his daughter and she fell in love with the priest. Before the capital punishment Valentine left the love letter for her: “Yours Valentine!” That’s why the letters in this day are called Valentinki (from 1800) and the very holiday – the St. Valentine’s Day.

    Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards