history of valentine’s day
the history of valentine’s day is quite dramatic and dates back to 300 ad in rome, italy. the emperor claudius ii believed that single men were better soldiers than married men, so he forbid all young men to marry. a man named valentine thought this was very wrong, so he continued to perform marriages in secret. when he was caught and put in prison to be killed, he sent the first “valentine” to his lover, signing the card “from your valentine”. that phrase is still used today!
公元3世纪，罗马帝国皇帝克劳迪乌斯二世在首都罗马宣布废弃所有的婚姻承诺，当时是出于战争的考虑，使更多无所牵挂的男人可以走上争战的疆场。一名叫瓦仑廷（sanctus valentinus）的神父没有遵照这个旨意而继续为相爱的年轻人举行教堂婚礼。事情被告发后，瓦仑廷神父先是被鞭打，然后被石头掷打，最后在公元270年2月14日这天被送上了绞架被绞死。14世纪以后，人们就开始纪念这个日子。现在，中文译为“情人节”的这个日子，在西方国家里就被称为 valentine's day ，用以纪念那位为情人做主而牺牲的神父。
valentine’s day activities 情人节活动
celebrating valentine’s day changes as you grow up. children celebrate by having parties at school. each child decorates a “valentine post box” and cuts a square hole in the top. then, each child makes valentines for every classmate, which include candy and a card with a nice message or joke on it. at the school party, children deliver their valentines to all of the other valentine post boxes in the class. in high school and university, people still send each other cards, but chocolates and flowers from “secret admirers” are also common. schools can also hold “sweetheart dances” or events like “date auctions” where people come to “bid money” for dates.
情人节的庆祝方式会随着一个人长大，方式也有所不通。孩子们过情人节，庆祝方式是在学校开派对。大家都会事先准备个小盒子并在盒子顶部掏出个洞，猜猜这是用来干啥滴？原来这盒子是用来装糖果或者卡片的呀！