HEPPY VALENTIN!!!!!!!!:

St. Valentine’sDay- February 14 I’ll be your sweetheart, if you’ll be mine, All of my life I’ll be your Valentine. Valentine’sDay is celebrated on February 14 as a festival of romance and affection. It’sthe day when boys and girls, sweethearts and lovers, husbands and wives,friends and neighbors, and even the office staff will exchange greeting cardscalled “valentines”, undying love, or satirical comment. Theornaments that decorate valentines are symbols of love and friendship. Each hasa special meaning. A fan means “Open your heart”. A ribbon means “You are tiedup” or “You’re my girl”. Lace means “You have caught my heart in a net”. Atvalentine parties symbols are sometimes hidden in a cake. Each guest gets aslice and, if he is lucky, a symbol. The symbol tells his fortune. Rice means awedding. A ring means an engagement. A coin means the person will marry someonewealthy. Sometimes the symbols are put in gift packages. When a boy gets a redmitten, it means that the girl doesn’t like him. Hearts are the most commonsymbols. Candy, cookies, cakes are made in heart shapes. Heart-shaped boxes ofjewelry and flowers are given on this day. Angels and children bless a happymarriage. Harps and lyres play romantic music. But one of the most famous symbolsis Cupid with his bow and arrow. Cupid, also called Eros was the ancient RomanGod of love. Redis the colour most often used in valentines because it is a symbol of warmthand feelings. White, a symbol of purity, is often used, too. Strawberry,raspberry, or peppermint ice-cream is used at the parties, as red is thevalentines colour. Inthe last century, sweethearts of both sexes would spend hours fashioning ahome-made card or present. The results of some of those painstaking efforts arestill preserved in museums. Lace, ribbon, wild flowers, coloured paper,feathers and shells, all were brought into use. Valentine’sDay is an interesting combination of pagan and Christian influences. During thepagan festival (Lupercalia) young women dropped poems bearing their names intoa large vase. Each young man picked a name from the vase to find his sweetheartfir that year. During the Middle Ages, church leaders wanted to relate thispagan festival to Christianity, so they renamed it after a Christian saint. Historiansthink that the first Valentine was a bishop, a Christian martyr, a young manwho was imprisoned in Romefor refusing to worship pagan gods. According to legend, before Valentine wasbeheaded on February 14, he restored the eyesight of his jailer’s blinddaughter. Then he sent her a farewell letter signed, “From your Valentine”.This phrase is now a common expression of affection that appears on many of theholiday’s greeting cards. Comicvalentines are also traditional. The habit of sending gifts is dying out, whichmust be disappointing for manufacturers, who nevertheless still hopefully dishout presents for Valentine’s Day in an attempt to cash in. Here is the key to my heart….. use it beforeI change the lock….