Valentine's Day !!!
First of all let me wish all my friends and fans " A very happy Valentine's Day " ... muaahhhh
For people who don't know the significance and reason Valentine's day being celebrated , here's a short recap :
Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14. In North America, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery.
HISTORY :
Valentine’s Day also is the same day marked for lottery lovers. It dates back to Roman times when young boys and girls had to lead strict separate lives. But on this day on the eve of the festival of Lupercal the names of young girls were written and placed in jars. Each young man would draw a girls name and she would then be his partner during the duration of the festival. Sometimes the pairing lasted for a year or maybe a lifetime.
Emperor Claudius was a cruel bloody ruler. When he could not recruit enough soldiers for his endless campaigns he blamed it on the men not wanting to leave their lovers and families. Consequently he cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. St. Valentine was a Christian priest who secretly got couples married. He was apprehended and jailed. But many visited him and showered him with notes of good wishes and flowers. One of these people was the daughter of the prison guard. Before being hauled off to his fate this holy priest left her a note thanking her for her support and signing it of as ‘Your Valentine’. Finally on the fatal day in February they dragged into the presence of the Prefect of Rome before being clubbed and beheaded. The day of his martyrdom is celebrated as Valentine’s Day.
Valentine is the name of several saints of whom two were celebrated martyrs during the reign of Emperor Claudius. One was a Roman who was killed for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on 14th February 269 AD. Their festivals fall on 14th February. It is a popular belief that on this day birds mate and sweethearts are chosen. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th to be St. Valentine’s Day in honour of the martyr.
Thanks to a concentrated marketing effort, Valentine's Day has emerged in Japan and Korea as a day on which women, and less commonly men, give candy, chocolate or flowers. It has become an obligation for many women to give chocolates to all male co-workers. In Japan this is known as giri-choko, from the words giri ("obligation") and choko, ("chocolate"). This contrasts with honmei-choko; chocolate given to a loved one. Friends, especially girls, may exchange chocolate referred to as tomo-choko ; from tomo meaning "friend".
By a further marketing effort, a reciprocal day called White Day has emerged. On March 14, men are expected to return the favour to those who gave them chocolates on Valentine's Day. Originally, the return gift was supposed to be white chocolate or marshmallows; hence "White Day". However, lingerie and jewelry have become common gifts.
MY VIEW / OPINION :
Do we really need some specific days to celebrate some of these events / festivals ? Does it mean that we should thank and gift our parents on the eve of Mother's day and Father's day ? Yes , there may be a reason to celebrate these kind of festivals on a specific day and show the people that you care .... But don't you think if we express our feelings whenever we feel like to our parents , friends ( Friendship Day ) , Loved ones ( Valentine's day ) or may be to environment ( World Environment Day ) , wouldn't that be great ??
I totally disagree with the format followed by people all around the world for celebrating such events . We should celebrate these kind of events whenever we feel like celebrating because that solves our purpose and is a great asset in respective areas .
What's your say ?
For people who don't know the significance and reason Valentine's day being celebrated , here's a short recap :
Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14. In North America, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery.
HISTORY :
Valentine’s Day also is the same day marked for lottery lovers. It dates back to Roman times when young boys and girls had to lead strict separate lives. But on this day on the eve of the festival of Lupercal the names of young girls were written and placed in jars. Each young man would draw a girls name and she would then be his partner during the duration of the festival. Sometimes the pairing lasted for a year or maybe a lifetime.
Emperor Claudius was a cruel bloody ruler. When he could not recruit enough soldiers for his endless campaigns he blamed it on the men not wanting to leave their lovers and families. Consequently he cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. St. Valentine was a Christian priest who secretly got couples married. He was apprehended and jailed. But many visited him and showered him with notes of good wishes and flowers. One of these people was the daughter of the prison guard. Before being hauled off to his fate this holy priest left her a note thanking her for her support and signing it of as ‘Your Valentine’. Finally on the fatal day in February they dragged into the presence of the Prefect of Rome before being clubbed and beheaded. The day of his martyrdom is celebrated as Valentine’s Day.
Valentine is the name of several saints of whom two were celebrated martyrs during the reign of Emperor Claudius. One was a Roman who was killed for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on 14th February 269 AD. Their festivals fall on 14th February. It is a popular belief that on this day birds mate and sweethearts are chosen. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th to be St. Valentine’s Day in honour of the martyr.
Thanks to a concentrated marketing effort, Valentine's Day has emerged in Japan and Korea as a day on which women, and less commonly men, give candy, chocolate or flowers. It has become an obligation for many women to give chocolates to all male co-workers. In Japan this is known as giri-choko, from the words giri ("obligation") and choko, ("chocolate"). This contrasts with honmei-choko; chocolate given to a loved one. Friends, especially girls, may exchange chocolate referred to as tomo-choko ; from tomo meaning "friend".
By a further marketing effort, a reciprocal day called White Day has emerged. On March 14, men are expected to return the favour to those who gave them chocolates on Valentine's Day. Originally, the return gift was supposed to be white chocolate or marshmallows; hence "White Day". However, lingerie and jewelry have become common gifts.
MY VIEW / OPINION :
Do we really need some specific days to celebrate some of these events / festivals ? Does it mean that we should thank and gift our parents on the eve of Mother's day and Father's day ? Yes , there may be a reason to celebrate these kind of festivals on a specific day and show the people that you care .... But don't you think if we express our feelings whenever we feel like to our parents , friends ( Friendship Day ) , Loved ones ( Valentine's day ) or may be to environment ( World Environment Day ) , wouldn't that be great ??
I totally disagree with the format followed by people all around the world for celebrating such events . We should celebrate these kind of events whenever we feel like celebrating because that solves our purpose and is a great asset in respective areas .
What's your say ?
posted by Munna / Rakesh @ 10:00 AM,
2 Comments:
At February 15, 2008 at 2:21 AM,
Roshini Thyagaraj said...
At February 16, 2008 at 11:35 AM,
Munna / Rakesh said...
According to me , " Valentine's Day is meant for people who tend to forget what love actually means. This day only acts as a reminder to them."