How did Valentine's Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas come from abroad?

Valentine's Day (English: Valentine's Day), also known as Saint Valentine's Day, falls on February 14 every year, and is one of the traditional western festivals.

Couples give each other chocolates, greeting cards and flowers on this day to express their love or friendship.

This festival was originally to commemorate two martyrs of the early Christian church. Their names were Valentai.

origin

Statement 1: In the 3rd century A.D., Emperor Claudius II of the Roman Empire renounced all marriage promises in the capital Rome. It was for the sake of war, so that more carefree men could go to war. A priest named Saint Ketus Valentinus did not follow this will and continued to hold church weddings for young people who loved each other. After this incident was reported, Father Valentin was first flogged, then stoned to death, and finally hanged on February 14, AD 270. 14 century later, people began to commemorate this day. Now the Chinese translation of "Valentine's Day" is called Valentine's Day in western countries to commemorate the priest who died for his lover.

Statement 2: It is said that Valentine was one of the earliest Christians. Being a Christian at that time meant danger and death. In order to cover other martyrs, Valentane was taken to prison. There, he cured the blind eye of the warden's daughter. When the tyrant heard a miracle, he was so frightened that he beheaded Valentane. According to legend, on the morning of the execution, Valentane wrote an affectionate farewell letter to the warden's daughter, which was signed: From your lover. On the same day, the blind girl planted an apricot tree full of red flowers in front of his grave to show her mind. This day is 14 February. Since then, Christianity has designated February 14 as Valentine's Day.

Statement 3: In ancient Rome, February 14 was a festival to show respect for Jonah. Jonah was the queen of the Roman gods, and the Romans regarded her as the goddess of women and marriage. The following February 15 was called "Lupsala Festival" to show respect for other gods under Jonah.

In ancient Rome, the lives of young people and girls were strictly separated. However, on Lupsala Festival, boys can choose the name of a girl they love and carve it on a vase. In this way, during the festival, young people can dance with the girl of their choice to celebrate the festival. If the selected girls are interested in boys, they can always pair up and eventually they will fall in love and get married in church. For this reason, future generations designated February 14 every year as Valentine's Day.

Statement 4: It originated from the festival of faun in ancient Rome.

According to this statement, the Christian church celebrated this day in order to christianize the faun festival in ancient Rome (celebrated on February 15 every year to protect the productivity of people, fields and livestock).

Among the gods worshipped by the Romans, Lubbocus was in charge of the protection of shepherds and sheep. Every year in mid-February, the Romans hold a grand ceremony to celebrate the festival of faun.

Compared with now, the calendar at that time was a little later, so the festival of faun was actually a celebration of the coming spring. Some people also say that this festival is to celebrate and bless Nuss, similar to the sheep's feet in ancient Greece and the horned pan in charge of animal husbandry and agriculture.

With the expansion of Roman power in Europe, the custom of faun festival was brought to France and Britain. One of people's favorite holiday activities is similar to lottery. The young women's names are put in the box, and then the young men come forward to smoke. A pair of drawn men and women become lovers for one year or more.

The rise of Christianity makes people's custom of commemorating gods gradually indifferent. The priests didn't want people to give up the joy of this festival, so they changed the festival of faun to Valentine's Day and moved it to February 14. In this way, the legend about the Valentine brothers and the ancient festivals are naturally combined. This festival was the most popular in medieval England. After the names of unmarried men and women are drawn, they will exchange gifts with each other, and women will become lovers of men within this year. A woman's name will be embroidered on a man's sleeve, so it is his sacred duty to take care of and protect women.

The origin of valentine's day names

Brewer wrote in his Dictionary of Proverbs and Fables: "Valentinus was a Roman priest who was imprisoned for helping persecuted Christians. He later converted to Christianity ... and was finally beaten to death, and died on February 14 ... "

The relationship between the ancient custom of celebrating Valentine's Day and valentina is purely coincidental. In fact, this festival is probably related to the faun festival in ancient Rome or the mating season of birds. Valentine's Day is characterized by lovers giving gifts to each other. Today, people like to express their feelings with Valentine's Day cards. Valentine's day cards are usually painted with Cupid, a heart shot by an arrow and so on. "

Legend of Valentine's Day

According to legend, Saint Valentine, a young Christian missionary in ancient Rome, ventured to spread Christianity and was arrested and imprisoned, which touched the old jailer and his blind daughter and was taken good care of by them. Before he was executed, Saint Valentine wrote a letter to the girl, expressing his deep affection for her. On the day when he was executed, the blind girl planted an apricot tree with red flowers in front of his grave to express her feelings. This day is 14 February. Now, on Valentine's Day, many young men also make postcards of courting St. Valentine into exquisite handicrafts and cut them into butterflies and flowers to show their sincerity and determination. Girls put laurel leaves on pillows at night, hoping to dream about their lovers. Usually on Valentine's Day, a red rose is given to express the feelings between lovers. A half-opened red rose is the best gift for a girl on Valentine's Day, and the girl takes a box of heart-shaped chocolates as a gift.

Regarding the relationship between Cupid and Valentine's Day, the dictionary above says: "Cupid (Latin cupido, meaning desire and love), the Roman god of love, is equivalent to the Greek god of love eros. He is usually represented by a lovely little boy with two wings on his back, covering his eyes with cloth and holding a bow and arrow. "

The World Book Encyclopedia provides further information, and there are actually different views on the origin of Valentine's Day. The encyclopedia points out: "It is said that during the year 200 AD, the Roman Emperor Claudius II prohibited young men from getting married. He thinks unmarried men can be better soldiers. A priest named Valenti disobeyed the emperor's orders and secretly married a young man. ..... It is rumored that Warren Tai was executed on February 14, 269 AD. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, in 496 AD, Pope Saint Chirasi I abolished the faun festival at the end of the fifth century AD and designated February 14 as Valentinus Day. " The popular form of this festival is Saint Valentine's Day, which is Valentine's Day.

14 century later, people began to commemorate this day. Now the Chinese translation of "Valentine's Day" is called Valentine's Day in English to commemorate him.

No matter what the real origin of Valentine's Day is, this custom originated from an ancient belief and was named by the "saints" in Christian countries after the German dream Christmas trip.

Every Christmas Eve, nearly1.60 billion tourists from all over the world flock to 2,500 Christmas markets in Germany to taste sugar-fried almonds, sweet red wine and other Christmas delicacies. Christmas markets in German cities generally start from June 165438+ 10 every year and end at the end of February. This tradition originated in Dresden in 1434.

Today, the Christmas market has become an important economic factor in Germany, because if the per capita expenditure is 3 1. 14 euros, the sales of the activities held around Advent will reach 4.085 billion euros. Ms. He Peiya, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the German National Tourism Administration, once said: "Few large gatherings can show the unique charm of Germany like the Christmas market."

Winter in Germany is a place worth visiting. Cold mountains and snow-covered land have turned Germany into a quiet, harmonious and charming place. Fairy tale village, chatting around the fire and traditional folk dances all bring a comfortable feeling. During Christmas, the streets are decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, coupled with winter activities in big cities and small towns, alpine skiing, sledding, cross-country skiing, bobsleigh, skating, hiking in the snow, ice stones and other winter sports make Germany full of vitality.

Celebrate the year-end festival in the nature of France

Spend Christmas or New Year's Day in the snow, and you will certainly enjoy countless fun! Ski resorts have been in action for a long time, preparing for this traditional festival, so that you can feel the simple enthusiasm of mountain people!

When vacationers go to any ski station, they can find that all ski stations are actively preparing for the festival at the end of1February and have launched a series of celebrations. Traditional programs, such as adult and children's performances, fireworks and Christmas market, have always been very popular with holidaymakers. In addition, ski resorts actively organize personalized celebrations for all guests, such as warm family celebrations and warm Christmas Eve celebrations of friends groups.

In addition to the festival activities launched by the above ski resorts, you can also go to Samoa (a representative village in Upper Sava Province) to participate in the wonderful week celebration; Go to Cumberland Ski Resort to participate in celebrations specially held for children; There is also a famous "Santa Claus celebration" in Wushi or Risur. At the end of the year, gorgeous fireworks will be lit on the mountains in France to celebrate the festival!

Santa Claus Village and Christmas Paradise in Finland

Cheeks like roses, nose like cherries, always smiling happily, cheeks covered with white beard. Before Christmas, he will drive a reindeer sleigh to the village, climb down from the house and give presents to the good children-this is the happy Santa Claus who brings joy and surprise to people every year.

Santa Claus Village in rovaniemi is recognized as a place where the world can realize its wishes. Every year, more than 400,000 tourists from more than 30 countries must go to the Santa Claus office in the Christmas Village if they want to see Santa Claus. SantaPark is another must-see place for Christmas fans in rovaniemi. This large-scale motorized amusement park with the theme of Santa Claus goes deep into the hills, and no matter what the weather outside is, it will not affect the play.

Christmas time in Helsinki, Christmas in the snow in rovaniemi, colorful Christmas in Turku and Christmas night in Tampere are the epitome of Christmas activities in major cities in Finland in 2004, allowing you to swim in Finland's rich Christmas atmosphere and know the local Christmas activities like the back of your hand.

Switzerland has the tallest Santa Claus in the world.

The town of Saint Nicholas is located in the valley leading to Zermatt. The town dressed up its church steeple as the tallest Santa Claus in the world. From the first Sunday of Advent this year1October 28th, 165438+ to 20051October 28th, this 350-year-old building will be covered with Santa Claus' costume, with a length of110 feet.

Christmas special offer in 2004/2005: From June 2004165438+18- from June 2005/65438+ 10/0, hotels in Zurich will be guests. From frugal inns to luxurious hotels, all kinds of hotels in Zurich offer guests a second night's free accommodation.

Don't miss the Christmas market this season. Switzerland will provide you with the most romantic, highest altitude and largest Christmas market. The most romantic Christmas market is located in the charming town of Einsiedeln. If you want to visit the highest Christmas market in the world, you might as well take the world's steepest gear train, Mount Pilatus. Bremgarten owns the most gorgeous Christmas market in Switzerland. But if you want to visit the biggest Christmas market in Switzerland, don't miss the 10 anniversary celebration in Montreux. 120 More than 20 kiosks similar to shepherds' huts are decorated in colorful ways, providing tourists with all kinds of high-quality novel gifts.

In addition, Samnaun's Santa Claus World Championship will kick off this winter. Players will compete for rich bonuses and the title of world champion in Santa Claus skiing, chimney climbing and curve sleigh competition. Everyone can participate in this activity.

Singapore Tropical Garden City Celebrates Colorful Christmas

Feel tropical Christmas, Singapore is a good choice! Melodious hymns are heard everywhere in brightly lit streets and well-dressed shopping malls. Carnival dances, concerts, various performances and festivals emerge one after another, immersing the whole country in the joy of festivals. If it is a family outing, it will be more enjoyable. I witnessed how Orchard Road became a colorful kaleidoscope and a magical Christmas garden during the Christmas lighting celebration from1October13 to1October 65438+2 in 2005! 65438+February 17 to 24, you can enjoy all kinds of wonderful artistic performances along Orchard Road, including cappella, musicals, pantomime, puppet shows and other entertainment performances, and Sentosa's New Year Countdown Carnival will also make you extremely happy. At the same time, you can also go to nearby shopping malls and specialty stores to buy brand-name goods, fashionable clothing jewelry and souvenirs, so that you can enjoy a refreshing, satisfying, colorful Christmas and novel shopping trip. Hungry? You can enjoy traditional Christmas dinner, international food, local food and so on. , will make you full!