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Americans celebrate Valentine's Day each year on February fourteenth. It is a holiday for lovers. Valentine's Day is a good day for a man to ask his girlfriend to marry him. It is also a good day for couples to get married. Other couples might go out for a special meal at a nice restaurant.
美国人在每年的2月14日庆祝情人节,这是爱人们的节日。情人节往往是男士向女友求婚的好日子,也是情侣们选择结婚的好日子。而结了婚的夫妇可能会去外面找家优雅的餐厅好好吃上一餐。
The holiday is named for Saint Valentine. He was an early Christian churchman who reportedly helped young lovers. Valentine was executed for his Christian beliefs on February fourteenth, more than 1,700 years ago.
情人节是以圣瓦伦丁命名的,他是早期的基督教徒,据说他帮助了许多年轻的情侣。1700多年前的2月14日,瓦伦丁由于其基督教信仰而被处死了。
But the day that has his name is even older than that. The ancient Romans celebrated a holiday for lovers more than 2,000 years ago. As part of the celebration,each girl wrote her name on a piece of paper and put it in a large container. Each boy reached into the container and pulled out the name of a girl. That girl became his girlfriend for a year.
虽然情人节以瓦伦丁命名,但其实情人节的起源比这一时间还要早。2000多年前,古罗马人就开始庆祝情人们的节日。作为情人节庆祝活动的一部分,姑娘们把她们的名字分别写在一张张纸条上,然后把纸条放进一个大盒子里。小伙子们把手伸进盒子里抽出姑娘的名字。被抽中的姑娘就要在接下来的一年中做他的女友。
Lovers still put their names on pieces of paper on Valentine's Day. They send each other cards that express their love. Sometimes they send other gifts, too, like jewelry... or flowers... or candy... or all three!
如今,情侣们仍在情人节这天把名字写在一张张纸条上。他们互赠情人节卡片,表达他们的爱意。有时,他们也会送其他礼物,例如珠宝、鲜花或是糖果,或者这三种都送。
Americans usually send cards through the mail system or in a computer message. But there is another way many Americans send messages of love on Valentine's Day. They pay to have them printed in a newspaper. Some of these messages are simple and short: “Susan, I love you very much. From John.” Others say more, like this example: “David, roses are red, violets are blue. I hope you love me as much as I love you. Forever, Mary.” There is only one problem in sending a Valentine's Day message this way. It will only reach the one you love if he or she reads the newspaper that day!
美国人通常会通过邮局或电子邮件寄送卡片。但情人节这一天,许多美国人还有另外一种互诉情衷的方式。他们会花钱把要传达的爱慕之情刊登在报纸上。有的信息简单明了,例如:“苏珊,我非常爱你,约翰。”有的信息会长一些,比如:“大卫,玫瑰是红色的,紫罗兰是紫色的,我希望你像我爱你那样爱我,直到永远,玛丽。”这种表达爱意的方式唯一的问题是:如果你的爱人没有读当天报纸中的这栏信息,那么你的爱意就无法传达给对方。 |