世界節(jié)假日博覽 第28期:情人節(jié)

　　Valentine's Day is one of the most famous holidays in the world. It falls on February the 14th and is celebrated across the world. It is the traditional day for lovers to express their love to each other. They do this by sending Valentine’s cards with romantic messages. It is common to leave the card unsigned. Other traditions on this day are buying chocolates and giving red roses. Valentine’s Day used to be an American and European thing, but now it has gone all over the world. It has become very commercial. Companies that make Valentine’s goods even encourage people to send Valentine’s cards to their parents and other family members! In Japan, only women give Valentine’s gifts – to all the men they know.

　　情人節(jié)是全球最知名的節(jié)日之一。每年的2月14日為情人節(jié)，全球都會(huì)慶祝這一節(jié)日。對(duì)于戀人來(lái)說(shuō)，這是他們向?qū)Ψ奖磉_(dá)愛(ài)意的傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日。他們會(huì)送上情人節(jié)賀卡，寫(xiě)上甜言蜜語(yǔ)。通常情況下，賀卡不會(huì)署名。其他傳統(tǒng)活動(dòng)為購(gòu)買(mǎi)巧克力，贈(zèng)送紅玫瑰。情人節(jié)曾經(jīng)是美國(guó)和歐洲節(jié)日，但是如今已經(jīng)在全球流行開(kāi)來(lái)。它變得更加商業(yè)化。公司還制作情人節(jié)物品，他們甚至還鼓勵(lì)人們將情人節(jié)賀卡送給父母和其他家庭成員。在日本，只有女性才將情人節(jié)禮物送給他們所認(rèn)識(shí)的所有男性。

　　There is confusion over which Saint Valentine the day is named after. It is either Valentine of Rome, who lived in the third century, or Saint Valentine, bishop of Terni, from the 14th century. The custom of exchanging romantic messages seems to have started in 19th-century England. In 1847, an American woman, Esther Howland, started producing and selling Valentine cards. Today, over one billion are sent worldwide, with women sending 85 per cent of them. Different companies slowly saw the opportunities to make money from Valentine’s Day. In the 1980s, diamond companies began promoting jewellery as the ultimate Valentine’s gift. French and Italian restaurants are also very busy on this day.

　　到底是以哪個(gè)圣瓦倫丁的名字命名的還存在困惑。他或許是生活在3世紀(jì)的羅馬圣教徒瓦倫丁，或者是14世紀(jì)的特爾尼大主教圣瓦倫丁。互送甜蜜話的習(xí)俗似乎開(kāi)始于19世紀(jì)的英格蘭。1847年，美國(guó)女性艾瑟·霍蘭德開(kāi)始制作并售賣(mài)情人節(jié)賀卡。如今，有超過(guò)10億張賀卡被分發(fā)出去，而女性占據(jù)了85%。許多公司逐漸將情人節(jié)看作是生財(cái)?shù)臋C(jī)會(huì)。20世紀(jì)80年代，鉆石公司開(kāi)始將首飾作為情人節(jié)的終極禮物。法國(guó)和意大利的餐館也會(huì)在這一天非常忙碌。

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