新概念英語：情人節(jié)的起源和習俗你知道嗎?

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，在美國和全世界其他地方，愛人們都會以圣瓦倫丁的名義互贈糖果、鮮花和禮物。但是這個神秘的圣人到底是誰?這些習俗又是從哪兒冒出來的?本文從古羅馬禮儀探索到了英國維多利亞女王時代的習俗，尋找到了關于這個古老節(jié)日的歷史。

The Legend of St. Valentine

一、圣人瓦倫丁的傳說。

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?

情人節(jié)的歷史、以及其背后那位圣人的故事一直迷霧重重。我們知道二月份一直都是一個慶祝愛情的月份，而情人節(jié)，正如我們今天所知道的，包含了基督教和古羅馬傳統(tǒng)兩者的痕跡。但是圣瓦倫丁究竟是誰?他是怎么和這個古老節(jié)日聯(lián)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，羅馬天主教認為至少有三個叫做瓦倫丁或者瓦倫丁諾斯的圣徒為教義獻身了。有一個傳說認為瓦倫丁是公元三世紀一名羅馬牧師。當時羅馬皇帝克勞狄二世禁止年輕男子結婚，因為他認為未婚男子可以成為比有家室男子更加優(yōu)良的士兵。瓦倫丁意識到了這項法令的不公，于是違反克勞狄二世的命令，繼續(xù)秘密地為年輕情侶主持婚禮。當瓦倫丁的行為被發(fā)現(xiàn)之后，克勞狄二世下令將他處死。

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

二、情人節(jié)的起源：一個2月份的異教徒節(jié)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.

雖然有人認為2月中旬慶祝情人節(jié)是為了紀念瓦倫丁的死或他的葬禮(這大約發(fā)生在公元270年左右)，但是其他人則表示說這是基督教會有意將圣瓦倫丁的節(jié)日安排在2月中旬，目的是為了把異教徒的牧神節(jié)“基督教化”。牧神節(jié)是一個古羅馬生育節(jié)，每年2月15日舉行，人們會在這一天獻祭羅馬農神福納斯、以及羅馬的建立者羅穆盧斯和瑞摩斯。

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.

在慶典開始時，參加牧神節(jié)的人們會受羅馬祭司命令，聚集在一個神圣的山洞里，人們認為羅馬的建立者羅穆盧斯和瑞摩斯就是在這個山洞里被一只母狼養(yǎng)大的。祭司會獻祭一只山羊祈求生育，獻祭一條狗祈求滌罪。然后他們會把山羊皮切成條，蘸上祭品的鮮血后走上街頭，用帶血的羊皮輕輕拍打婦女和農田。羅馬婦女們非但不害怕，還非常歡迎人們用羊皮打自己，因為人們認為這會讓婦女們來年更能生育。據(jù)傳說，在那一天晚些時候，城市里所有年輕女性都會把她們的名字放到一個大甕里。城里的單身漢們每個人都會選一個名字，和挑到名字的女人成為一年的伴侶。配對的人往往最后都會結婚。

Valentine’s Day: A Day of Romance

三、情人節(jié)：一個浪漫的節(jié)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.

基督教剛剛興起時牧神節(jié)還得以保留了下來，但是在公元5世紀末牧神節(jié)被宣布為非法(牧神節(jié)被視為“非基督徒”節(jié)日)，當時教皇拉西厄斯宣布2月14日為圣瓦倫丁節(jié)。但是后來隔了不久，這個節(jié)日和愛情聯(lián)系了起來。在中世紀，人們普遍認為法國和英國鳥兒交配季從2月14日開始，這也增強了人們有關圣瓦倫丁節(jié)應該是一個有關愛情的節(jié)日這一想法。

Typical Valentine’s Day Greetings

四、經典的情人節(jié)問候。

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.

除了美國之外，加拿大、墨西哥、英國、法國和澳大利亞也會慶祝情人節(jié)。在英國，情人節(jié)在17世紀開始流行開來。到18世紀中期，各個階層的朋友和愛人們互贈一些愛情信物和手寫的便條已經很常見了。而到了20世紀，由于印刷技術的進步，印刷出來的卡片取代了手寫的信件。在那個不提倡直接表達自己感情的年代，現(xiàn)成的卡片就成了人們表達自己情感的一種簡單方法。而更加便宜的郵費也有助于情人節(jié)賀卡的普及。