新概念英语：情人节的起源和习俗你知道吗?

Every February 14, across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint, and where did these traditions come from? Find out about the history of this centuries-old holiday, from ancient Roman rituals to the customs of Victorian England.

每年2月14日，在美国和全世界其他地方，爱人们都会以圣瓦伦丁的名义互赠糖果、鲜花和礼物。但是这个神秘的圣人到底是谁?这些习俗又是从哪儿冒出来的?本文从古罗马礼仪探索到了英国维多利亚女王时代的习俗，寻找到了关于这个古老节日的历史。

The Legend of St. Valentine

一、圣人瓦伦丁的传说。

The history of Valentine’s Day–and the story of its patron saint–is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

情人节的历史、以及其背后那位圣人的故事一直迷雾重重。我们知道二月份一直都是一个庆祝爱情的月份，而情人节，正如我们今天所知道的，包含了基督教和古罗马传统两者的痕迹。但是圣瓦伦丁究竟是谁?他是怎么和这个古老节日联系在一起的?

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

今天，罗马天主教认为至少有三个叫做瓦伦丁或者瓦伦丁诺斯的圣徒为教义献身了。有一个传说认为瓦伦丁是公元三世纪一名罗马牧师。当时罗马皇帝克劳狄二世禁止年轻男子结婚，因为他认为未婚男子可以成为比有家室男子更加优良的士兵。瓦伦丁意识到了这项法令的不公，于是违反克劳狄二世的命令，继续秘密地为年轻情侣主持婚礼。当瓦伦丁的行为被发现之后，克劳狄二世下令将他处死。

Origins of Valentine’s Day: A Pagan Festival in February

二、情人节的起源：一个2月份的异教徒节日。

While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial–which probably occurred around A.D. 270–others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

虽然有人认为2月中旬庆祝情人节是为了纪念瓦伦丁的死或他的葬礼(这大约发生在公元270年左右)，但是其他人则表示说这是基督教会有意将圣瓦伦丁的节日安排在2月中旬，目的是为了把异教徒的牧神节“基督教化”。牧神节是一个古罗马生育节，每年2月15日举行，人们会在这一天献祭罗马农神福纳斯、以及罗马的建立者罗穆卢斯和瑞摩斯。

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city’s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.

在庆典开始时，参加牧神节的人们会受罗马祭司命令，聚集在一个神圣的山洞里，人们认为罗马的建立者罗穆卢斯和瑞摩斯就是在这个山洞里被一只母狼养大的。祭司会献祭一只山羊祈求生育，献祭一条狗祈求涤罪。然后他们会把山羊皮切成条，蘸上祭品的鲜血后走上街头，用带血的羊皮轻轻拍打妇女和农田。罗马妇女们非但不害怕，还非常欢迎人们用羊皮打自己，因为人们认为这会让妇女们来年更能生育。据传说，在那一天晚些时候，城市里所有年轻女性都会把她们的名字放到一个大瓮里。城里的单身汉们每个人都会选一个名字，和挑到名字的女人成为一年的伴侣。配对的人往往最后都会结婚。

Valentine’s Day: A Day of Romance

三、情人节：一个浪漫的节日。

Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity but was outlawed—as it was deemed “un-Christian”–at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.

基督教刚刚兴起时牧神节还得以保留了下来，但是在公元5世纪末牧神节被宣布为非法(牧神节被视为“非基督徒”节日)，当时教皇拉西厄斯宣布2月14日为圣瓦伦丁节。但是后来隔了不久，这个节日和爱情联系了起来。在中世纪，人们普遍认为法国和英国鸟儿交配季从2月14日开始，这也增强了人们有关圣瓦伦丁节应该是一个有关爱情的节日这一想法。

Typical Valentine’s Day Greetings

四、经典的情人节问候。

In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine’s Day greetings.

除了美国之外，加拿大、墨西哥、英国、法国和澳大利亚也会庆祝情人节。在英国，情人节在17世纪开始流行开来。到18世纪中期，各个阶层的朋友和爱人们互赠一些爱情信物和手写的便条已经很常见了。而到了20世纪，由于印刷技术的进步，印刷出来的卡片取代了手写的信件。在那个不提倡直接表达自己感情的年代，现成的卡片就成了人们表达自己情感的一种简单方法。而更加便宜的邮费也有助于情人节贺卡的普及。