Monday, February 18, 2008

VALENTINE DAY

Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14th. In the Americas and Europe, 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 of 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.

CLICK VALENTINE IMAGE BELOW TO VIEW FULL RESOLUTION


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 and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain. In the United States, the imported fashion leading to a mid-nineteenth century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States to follow.

No comments:

RANDOM IMAGES

Random Images