世界节假日博览 第28期:情人节

 　　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.

　　情人节是全球最知名的节日之一。每年的2月14日为情人节，全球都会庆祝这一节日。对于恋人来说，这是他们向对方表达爱意的传统节日。他们会送上情人节贺卡，写上甜言蜜语。通常情况下，贺卡不会署名。其他传统活动为购买巧克力，赠送红玫瑰。情人节曾经是美国和欧洲节日，但是如今已经在全球流行开来。它变得更加商业化。公司还制作情人节物品，他们甚至还鼓励人们将情人节贺卡送给父母和其他家庭成员。在日本，只有女性才将情人节礼物送给他们所认识的所有男性。

　　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.

　　到底是以哪个圣瓦伦丁的名字命名的还存在困惑。他或许是生活在3世纪的罗马圣教徒瓦伦丁，或者是14世纪的特尔尼大主教圣瓦伦丁。互送甜蜜话的习俗似乎开始于19世纪的英格兰。1847年，美国女性艾瑟·霍兰德开始制作并售卖情人节贺卡。如今，有超过10亿张贺卡被分发出去，而女性占据了85%。许多公司逐渐将情人节看作是生财的机会。20世纪80年代，钻石公司开始将首饰作为情人节的终极礼物。法国和意大利的餐馆也会在这一天非常忙碌。