How to spell Valentine's Day in English. Traditions and customs: Valentine's Day in Great Britain. Playful poems and rhymes about love

Valentine's Day has been celebrated in English-speaking countries since ancient times. While studying English, we must also study the culture and traditions of the countries that speak this language.
Therefore, we will devote a number of articles to the traditions of the British, Americans, and Australians. Let's start with Valentine's Day.

Not long ago we also gladly joined this tradition. On Valentine's Day, as we know, it is customary to talk about love, send cards to each other, give flowers, sweets and other gifts to your loved ones.

Origin of Valentine's Day

There are several versions of the origin of this festival - in our opinion, a holiday.

There is a version that this love tradition originates from the time of the Roman Empire under the reign of Claudius II. Rome was involved in a bloody battle. Young people did not want to leave their families, their loved ones and go to war, so the emperor annulled all marriages and engagements in Rome.

But a certain priest Valentine protected the lovers of the empire and secretly married them, despite the order of the emperor. When Claudius found out about this, he sent Valentine to prison, where he spent the rest of his life and died on February 14, 270.

There is another story according to which Valentine helped Christians leave Rome during persecution. He was captured and tortured to force him to renounce his faith. He was bludgeoned and then beheaded. This supposedly also happened on February 14, but already in the year 273.

The third version of the origin of Valentine's Day goes back to the pagan tradition of the Lupercalia festival, celebrated by young Romans on February 15 of each year BC.

Lottery of love

Celebration traditions

According to this tradition, each girl wrote her name on a token, then the tokens were dropped into special urns, and the young boys took out one token, and thus pairs were formed. It was kind of love lottery. During the Roman occupation of Britain, this idea took root among the ancient Britons.

After conversion to Christianity, the holiday became known as Valentine's Day and was celebrated on February 14th. The old pagan tradition of the lottery was preserved until the beginning of the last century in a slightly modified form. IN Lancashire all the names of young people of marriageable age were written on small pieces of paper, then they were divided into 2 parts: male names and female ones.

Young boys pulled out a piece of paper with the girl’s name, and girls pulled out a piece of paper from the “male” pile. Thus, everyone had two options to choose from. Next, it was necessary to decide which of them was better, and after the final choice, the holiday began: the boys invited the girls for walks, to dances, and gave gifts.

IN Norwich There was such a tradition: gifts on the evening before Valentine's Day were wrapped and placed on the porch of the house. Then they rang or knocked on the door and ran away. You could see packages like this all over the city. They were anonymous and contained only the message: "Happy Valentine's Day." Some gifts were valuable, and some were just for fun, wrapped in several layers of packaging, among which one could read the message: “Don’t despair!”

Later, special beautiful cards for Valentine's Day appeared; they were decorated with expensive materials: lace, corduroy, brocade. As a rule, they contained secret compartments inside, hidden under folds of fabric, where the boys wrote messages for the girl they loved.


Nowadays, there is still a tradition of sending cards anonymously, from a secret admirer.

Joke about Valentine's Day

It has become common practice to place personal love advertisements in local or national newspapers, and the traditional gift is now a bouquet of roses, or even more romantic (and cheaper!) a single rose. It has also become normal for women to send messages to men, assuring them of their eternal love, and on Valentine's Day during a leap year, a woman can even propose to a man for her hand and heart.
Recently they have become popular "speed dating" on Valentine's Day, although they can be held much more often. You can learn more about them in a separate article about

St Valentine’s Day comes on February 14. It is not a legal or national holiday. Banks and offices are not closed, but it is a happy little festival for young people. St Valentine is the patron of sweethearts. February 14 is the anniversary of his death.

It is widely celebrated among people of all ages by exchange of “valentines”. A “valentine” may mean a special greeting-card or a little present. The day is the time to send little gifts to those you love. Flowers and candies are favorite presents which sweethearts send to each other. Valentine candies are packed in red heart-shaped boxes and sold for this one day.

Valentines are special greeting cards. They are often colored red, have red trimmings and pictures of hearts. Some “valentines” are very fancy, they are trimmed with paper lace and little bows of paper ribbon. They have verses of love poetry printed on them.

It is a good day for parties. The hosts trim the hall with red and white paper hearts. Refreshments are often colored red. Sandwiches and cakes are often cut in the shape of hearts. Sometimes, a King and Queen of Hearts are chosen during this evening.

It is a very interesting holiday and many people like to celebrate it.

Translation

Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14th. This is not a state or national holiday. Banks and offices do not close on this day, but it is a fun holiday for young people. Saint Valentine is the patron saint of lovers. February 14 is the anniversary of his death.

This day is widely celebrated among people of all ages. They exchange Valentine cards. "Valentine" can mean a special card or a small gift. On this day, it is customary to send small gifts to those you love. Flowers and chocolates are favorite gifts that lovers send to each other. The candies are packaged in red heart-shaped boxes and are sold specially on this day.

Valentines are also special greeting cards. They are often red in color, with red trim and heart designs. Some Valentines are very fancy, decorated with paper lace and little paper ribbon bows. They contain poems about love.

This is a good day for parties, especially among young people. The owners decorate the hall with red and white paper hearts. Drinks and snacks are often red in color. Sandwiches and cakes are often cut into the shape of a heart. Sometimes, the king and queen of hearts are chosen.

This is a very interesting holiday and many people like to celebrate it.

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Admit it: you're in love! You are crazy in love! Even English seems to have become a little easier to learn.

Especially for all lovers, we have compiled a list of the 14 most romantic English words and expressions that can turn your soulmate’s head (don’t forget about flowers!).

• To flirt - flirt

If you flirt with someone, You behave playfully and flirtatiously, trying to please and tease someone. You can flirt verbally: “What a cute bow-tie you are wearing today!”, and in writing: “luved how u were looking in class today xoxo.” Pay attention to this strange luv: Of course, from the point of view of grammar and common sense, this is wrong, but from the point of view of saving effort when typing a message, it is completely justified. Textlish (English for Texting) has long conquered the media space, so don't be offended if you receive a message like "BTW I luv u H2CUS MUSM xoxo (By the way, I love you, hope to see you soon, miss you so much xoxo)" . If this bothers you XOXO, don’t worry, this is a familiar symbol at the end of a message, meaning “hugs and kisses”. You can leave only “kisses” – XXX, “smacks.”

A flirt, by the way, they call someone who flirts desperately in any company. For many it is innate - a flirtatious nature, someone is just having fun. In any case, try not to give the wrong impression and don't go too far- don’t go too far, otherwise the person will really think that he sincerely likes you.

• To have a crush on someone - to fall in love without memory, to “fall in love”, to be inflamed with passion for someone, to lose your head

"It's nice" to have a crush on someone. It feels like you"re alive, you know?" (Scarlett Johansson)

It is not known exactly how this phrase appeared in modern English. Perhaps by analogy with the fact that your heart shrinks every time you see your crush- an object of adoration. American teenagers often tease each other by saying "you're crushing on him/her!"

• Heart-throb - handsome, heartthrob

What do Leonardo DiCaprio, David Beckham, Matt Bomer, Ian Sommerhalder, Gaspard Ulliel and Tom Hiddleston have in common? In addition to their impressive careers, each of them has millions of fans who regularly exclaim: “He is so hot!” All in all, a heart-throb- this is an unattainably attractive man who makes your heart skip a beat– which makes your heart skip a beat.

• Will you like to go out with me?/Would you like to go out with me? – Can I invite you...? Would you like to go...?

You actually really like someone, but you have no idea how to invite your crush on a date - to ask her out on a date? Don't panic, the invitation phrase itself is very simple, but mustering up the courage to say it can be very difficult.

• Serenade – serenade/sing a serenade

The word “serenade” itself comes from the Italian “sera” - evening and “serena” - the evening song of the troubadours. Modern romantic lovers, like six centuries ago, are ready to sing under the window all night, dreaming of winning the heart of a lady - to win her heart. If you can"t carry a tune, in other words, the bear has finally stepped on your ear, now you can use the services of professional serenaders.

• To be lovesick - to languish in love

Yes, we are talking about them, these damn butterflies in the stomach. Have you ever had butterflies in your stomach? Add to this sweaty palms, difficulty breathing and a complete vacuum in the head. For some, like Florentino Ariza, the state of “love fever” resembles a real fever. American trio Jonas Brothers sing about what they don't want catch this lovebug– to catch the love virus, and the English singer Katie Melua even dedicated the song “Plague of Love” to this painful condition:

• A table for two – table for two, for two persons

Are you planning a special romantic dinner with your partner? beloved one? We are sure that yes, and have already announced to all our friends: “I made a date with her for dinner!” Just remember to check when booking a table that we’d like a table for two, please. And even if you go to blind date– a blind date, the most romantic moment of the evening will be a candlelit dinner - a candlelit dinner.

• To admire - to admire, admire, admire

If you sincerely admire someone, you are his/her admirer. On Valentine's Day in the Victorian era, you could receive an anonymous valentine signed Your secret admirer- Your secret admirer.

• Be Mine – Be mine (beloved)/my (beloved)

In every third American Valentine's card you will find this categorical phrase. In English it is considered much less straightforward than its Russian literal translation, and is perceived as a cute way of saying I'm into you!- I like you!

• To fall in love - to fall in love

The statistics are inexorable: on average, every person on the planet falls in love about 7 times before deciding to get married and start a family. And one of these seven loves is a textbook love at first sight, love at first sight, and second - unrequited love, unrequited love. The latter often leads to mass poisonings love potion- love potion.

• Darling – dear/darling

Darling- this is not only a synonym of addresses full of tenderness love, babe or sweetheart. Moreover, darling can be called not only your better half– Your soulmate, but also a close friend or girlfriend, the relationship with whom does not carry any romantic overtones. Next time tell your best friend: “Aw, you’re such a darling. What could I do without you?” She will definitely be pleased.

• To get engaged - to get engaged, to become engaged

So, your boyfriend is finally proposed to you– made a marriage proposal, so now you are wearing an engagement ring- wedding ring. In Great Britain and America the ring is worn on ring finger– the ring finger of the left hand (See how logical everything is? Probably, so as not to get confused from the excitement at the wedding). In English there are two synonyms for the word "engagement" - engagement And betrothal. The word betrothal comes from the Old English treowthe - "vow, promise, oath." Today it sounds quite old-fashioned, although you can call your bride with emphasized tenderness and seriousness my betrothed. This is exactly what 12-year-old Joffrey Baratheon called Sansa Stark (Hail the fandom of A Song of Ice and Fire!).

• To pop the question, to propose, to get down on bended knee - make an offer

You won’t believe it, but all these phrases mean the same thing - to propose marriage. “Faint heart never won fair lady,” the British say. So take courage and take a knee.

• Fiancé/Fiancée – bride/groom

The superscript marks indicate the French origin of these words; apparently, they were left for greater romance. Appeals fiancé/fiancée are appropriate not only on the wedding day, but also in the period between the engagement and the ceremony.

You're Nuts!

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Cashews are nuts.
And so are you.

Onions stink!

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Onions stink.
And so do you.

The first time I saw you…

Roses are red, violets are blue,
The first time I saw you, my heart knew it was true!

We’re perfect for each other!

We fight like a married couple, talk like BFFs, flirt like 1st loves & protect each other like siblings. We're perfect! So will u be my valentine?

The depth of my love

Roses are red, violets are blue, the depth of my love? If you only knew!

Someone will walk into your life

Someday someone will walk into your life and make you realize why it never worked out with anyone else. u r that person!

Another you...

Another month. Another year. Another smile. Another tear. Another winter & another summer too. But there can never be another u.

What is Minnie without Mickey?

What is Minnie without Mickey, what is Tigger without Pooh, what is Bella without Edward, what am I without you?

You are my favorite!

Ur voice is my favorite sound,ur name is my favorite word,ur hugs are my favorite feelin,ur smile is my favorite sight.I luv u,ur amazing!

I don’t say I love you out of habit

When I say “I love you” I don’t say it as a habit, I say it to remind you you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. I luv u x

Words begin with ABC

Words begin with ABC. Numbers begin with 123. Music begins with do, re, mi. And love begins with you and me. Happy Valentines Day!

If i could give u one thing

If i could give u one thing in life,i would give u the ability 2 c urself through my eyes,only thet u would realize how special u r 2 me!

Missing you is my hobby

Missing you is my hobby, caring for you is my job, making you happy is my duty & loving you is my life. Happy Valentines Day x

A million people in the world

There are a million people in this world, but in the end, it all comes down to one. So to my special one... Happy Valentines Day!

Life is for living!

LIFE is 4 living, I live mine 4 U! LOVE is 4 giving, I give mine 2 U! DREAMS are 4 dreaming, mine are 4 U! HEARTS are 4 beating, & mine beats 4 U!

Oh my dear Valentine

Oh my dear Valentine, What's life? Life is love.Whats love? Love is kissing.Whats kissing? Come here and I show you!

Will you be my valentine?

Valentines Day is a day wen u find ur tru luv.A day of hearts & yummy candys. A day we Cupid hits u wiv an arrow. A day we find ur Valentine! Will u be mine?

A drop in the ocean

ill drop a tear drop into the ocean & the day i find that tear drop is the day i stop loving u!

You're my strength

Ur my strength, My luv, My heart.Ur luvn touch i long 4 so mch,Ur voice so softly dat whispers i’m ur’s 4ever b mine my baby “I LOVE U”

R is for red

R for red, red for blood, blood for heart, heart for love, love for u, u for me,
me is u, I love u!

You take my breath away

It is hard to talk when your in love because when i look into your beautiful eyes i get
my breath taken away

Guardian Angel

If i could die early i would ask God if i could be your guardian angel, so i could
wrap my wings around you and embrace you whenever you feel alone…

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