双语美文：西方情人节的传统

St Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14 of each year, the reason why it is celebrated on this day is because this was the day that the Patron Saint of Lovers "St Valentine" was supposedly executed on.

On this day lovers all around the world mark this occasion as a day for sending poems, cards, flowers or candy, etc. They might also be a social gathering or ball to mark the occasion.

Many Valentine's Day customs involved ways that single women could learn who their future husbands would be. Englishwomen of the 1700's wrote men's names on scraps of paper, rolled each in a little piece of clay, and dropped them all into water. The first paper that rose to the surface supposedly had the name of a woman's true love.

Also in the 1700's, unmarried women pinned five bay leaves to their pillows on the eve of Valentine's Day. They pinned one leaf to the center of the pillow and one to each corner. If the charm worked, they saw their future husbands in their dreams.

One of the oldest customs was the practice of writing women's names on slips of paper and drawing them from a jar. The woman whose name was drawn by a man became his valentine, and he paid special attention to her. Many men gave gifts to their valentines. In some areas, a young man gave his valentine a pair of gloves. Wealthy men gave fancy balls to honor their valentines.

Valentine cards became popular in Great Britain in the nineteenth century. Noted artist Kate Greenaway created cards which featured joyful children and beautiful gardens. Esther Howland was one of the first Valentine card manufacturers in the United States.

Inspired by a British card, she began production in 1847. Her cards featured lace and paper flowers and leaves. Other card manufacturers emphasized Cupid, the pudgy, winged son of Venus, the goddess of love. In Roman lore, Cupid is known as Eros, the son of Aphrodite.

In the United States and Canada, children exchange valentines with their friends. In some schools, the children hold a classroom party and put all the valentines into a box they have decorated.

At the end of the day, the teacher or one child distributes the cards. Many children make their own valentines from paper doilies, red paper, wallpaper samples, and pictures cut from magazines. Sometimes they buy kits that include everything needed to make valentines. Many children send their largest, fanciest cards to their parents and teachers.

In Europe, people celebrate Valentine's Day in many ways. British children sing special Valentine's Day songs and receive gifts of candy, fruit, or money. In some areas of England, people bake valentine buns with caraway seeds, plums, or raisins. People in Italy hold a Valentine's Day feast.

中文资料：

Valentine's Day曾是英国人喜爱的节日，随着新大陆的开发，英国移民把这一富有浪漫色彩的节日带到了北美，逐渐在美国生根开花。

年轻人是圣Valentine节当之无愧的主角，他们要在这一节日里郑重其事地为恋人选择礼物、赠送鲜花，表达自己的爱慕之情。痴情的姑娘可能会按照古老的传说，在圣Valentine节前夜把月桂树叶放在枕头上，盼望在梦中同自己的心上人相会。

现在情人节已经不单是情人们的节日，也是各种朋友之间交换感谢的一个日子，是一个大众化的节日。情人节这一天，不仅仅情侣们互赠卡片和礼物，人们也给自己的父母以及其他受自己尊敬和爱戴的人赠礼物和卡片。Valentine's Day就是这样一个充满爱情和友谊的欢乐节日。