1. VALENTINE’ VALENTINE’S DAY!

2. The Story

3. Valentine’s Day started over two thousand years ago, as a winter festival in ancient Rome on 15 February. It was called Lupercalia.

4. The Valentine celebrations we know today probably originate in 14th-century England and France. The women wrote their names on cards and put them into a box from which each man then picked a card. The woman whose name was on the card became the man’s sweetheart or ‘Valentine’, as 14 February is also the commemoration day of St. Valentine.

5. One legend says that Valentine was a priest who lived in the third century in Rome.

6. The Roman Emperor Claudius II decided that his soldiers must not marry, because married soldiers do not make good soldiers.

7. Valentine realized the injustice of the decree and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.

8. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

9. In prison Valentine fell in love with a young girl - his jailor's daughter. Before his death he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentinine!’

10. Valentine died on 14 February, so the date of the festival changed from 15 to 14 February, and the name changed to Saint Valentine’s Day.

11. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

12. Nowadays Saint Valentine is the patron of lovers and Saint Valentine's Day is celebrated all over the world.

13. Hearts and roses are the most popular symbols of Valentine's Day.

14. Valentine’s Symbols I love you!

15. Red is the colour of Valentine’s Day because it’s the colour of a heart.

16. People still send each other Valentine’s cards, but often they don’t write their names inside: they just write “Be my Valentine!”, or “From your Valentine”. It’s a kind of game.

17. A lot of people go out to restaurants for the evening and have dinner for two, with candles and soft music.

18. Flowers and chocolates are very popular !

19. Happy Valentine’s Day!

20. Vocabulary: Sweetheart [`swi:tha:t] любим(a),скъп(a) commemoration[kа.mema`reiJn] празнуване, честване priest [pri:st] свещеник injustice [in`dз/\stis] несправедливост, неправда decree [`di`kri:] указ, декрет, закон put to death – осъждам на смърт

21. Did you remember? 1. When did Valentine’s Day start? How was it called? 2. When did Valentine live? 3. Why was he put to death? 4. What happened in prison? 5. How do people celebrate Valentine’s Day today?

22. Valentine’s Day is a time to remember the Special People in our lives Thank you for beeing such a Wonderful Friend ! By Anna Endarova