西洋情人節的由來
西洋情人節流傳著許多不同的版本，最早期可追朔到羅馬牧神的宗教節慶。當時的羅馬郊外，有許多成群的野狼在鄰近的森林裡危害遊走，給人畜帶來不少威脅。
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也有人說這個節日是慶祝法烏努斯神（faunos），它類似古希臘的人身羊足，頭上有角的潘神（pan），是掌管畜牧和農業的。
而在牧神節的前夕，也就是二月十四日當晚，羅馬女孩子的名字會被寫在一張小紙籤上放在盒子裡，再由男孩子抽出那女孩的名字，這一年那女孩就成為那男孩的情人。
而為何後來二月十五日的牧神節，演變成二月十四日的聖范倫坦斯日（St. Valentine's Day），紀念基督教的殉道者范倫坦斯？是因為到了公元二百七十年羅馬反對基督教，許多基督徒遭受迫害致死。
當時皇帝克勞多斯（claudius）禁止士兵婚嫁，而有個基督徒范倫坦斯不僅反抗皇上禁令，拒絕敬拜羅馬神祗，並且秘密的替未婚男女舉行婚禮，因此被逮捕，入獄，並於二月十四日被砍頭。
許多年過後，羅馬成為基督教國家，當時為信仰殉道的范倫坦斯基督徒，成為人們景仰的聖徒。而二月十四日就不再慶祝牧神節，改紀念殉道者聖范倫坦斯。
而在西方演變成二月十四日這天寄卡片或送禮物給所愛的人，並且不限於情人，父母、兄弟姊妹、朋友、老師…都可以的。
而傳入東方的西洋情人節，印象中似乎就只有年輕男女與所愛的情人共度浪漫的節日。那大家免不了會送花，玫瑰花成了帶有特殊意義的花語，巧克力也可代替花朵送禮，加上特別考究的花朵數量，都令小倆口感到萬般的甜蜜。
記得跟先生談戀愛的時候，在情人節的前夕送上一個手縫的小袋子，裡面放著兩顆相思豆，還有一段王維的詩：「紅豆生南國，春來發幾枝，願君多採擷，此物最相思。」雖沒有過度包裝，但那段濃情至今仍難以忘懷。
其實，不管如何度過情人節，只要有情人陪伴就是最幸福的了。@Valentine's Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Valentine's Day | |
 Traditional symbols of Valentine's Day include hearts, doves, Cupid and love notes. American postcard, circa 1900. | |
| St. Valentine's Day | |
| Christian and Christian-influenced cultures | |
| Christian, cultural, multinational | |
| Lovers express their feelings to each other | |
| February 14 | |
| Sending greeting cards and gifts, dating. | |
Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.
The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines." Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards.[1] The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain, and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th-century America was a harbinger of the future commercialization of holidays in the United States.[2]
The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas. The association estimates that, in the US, men spend in average twice as much money as women.[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Protection_policy#semi
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