Valentine's Day

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This article is about the liturgical celebration and romantic holiday. For Brazil's Dia de São Valentim, see Dia dos Namorados. For uses of Valentine, see Valentine. For other uses, see Valentine's Day (disambiguation).

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Valentine's Day, also known as Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine,^[1] is a celebration observed on February 14 each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it is not a public holiday in most of them. St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. Several martyrdom stories were invented for the various Valentines that belonged to February 14, and added to later martyrologies.^[2] A popular hagiographical account of Saint Valentine of Rome states that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. An embellishment to this story states that before his execution he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell.^[3] Saint Valentine's Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion,^[4] as well as in the Lutheran Church.^[5] The Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrates Saint Valentine's Day, albeit on July 6 and July 30, the former date in honor of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and the latter date in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni).
The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). In Europe, Saint Valentine's Keys are given to lovers "as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart", as well as to children, in order to ward off epilepsy (called Saint Valentine's Malady).^[6] Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.^[7]

Folk traditions

While the European folk traditions connected with Saint Valentine and St. Valentine's Day have become marginalized by the modern Anglo-American customs connecting the day with romantic love, there are some remaining associations connecting the saint with the advent of spring.^{[citation needed]}
While the custom of sending cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts originated in the UK, Valentine's Day still remains connected with various regional customs in England. In Norfolk, a character called 'Jack' Valentine knocks on the rear door of houses leaving sweets and presents for children. Although he was leaving treats, many children were scared of this mystical person.^[34][35]
In Slovenia, Saint Valentine or Zdravko was one of the saints of spring, the saint of good health and the patron of beekeepers and pilgrims.^[36] A proverb says that "Saint Valentine brings the keys of roots". Plants and flowers start to grow on this day. It has been celebrated as the day when the first work in the vineyards and in the fields commences. It is also said that birds propose to each other or marry on that day. Another proverb says "Valentin – prvi spomladin" ("Valentine — the first spring saint"), as in some places (especially White Carniola), Saint Valentine marks the beginning of spring.^[37] Valentine's Day has only recently been celebrated as the day of love. The day of love was traditionally March 12, the Saint Gregory's day, or February 22, Saint Vincent's Day. The patron of love was Saint Anthony, whose day has been celebrated on June 13.^[36]

Modern times

Valentine's Day postcard, circa 1910

In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man's Valentine Writer, which contained scores of suggested sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose his own. Printers had already begun producing a limited number of cards with verses and sketches, called "mechanical valentines," and a reduction in postal rates in the next century ushered in the less personal but easier practice of mailing Valentines. That, in turn, made it possible for the first time to exchange cards anonymously, which is taken as the reason for the sudden appearance of racy verse in an era otherwise prudishly Victorian.^[55]
Paper Valentines became so popular in England in the early 19th century that they were assembled in factories. Fancy Valentines were made with real lace and ribbons, with paper lace introduced in the mid-19th century.^[56] In 1835, 60,000 Valentine cards were sent by post in Britain, despite postage being expensive.^[57] The Laura Seddon Greeting Card Collection at Manchester Metropolitan University gathers 450 Valentine's Day cards dating from the early nineteenth century, printed by the major publishers of the day.^[58] The collection is cataloged in Laura Seddon's book Victorian Valentines (1996).^[59]
In the United States, the first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland (1828–1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts.^[60][61] Her father operated a large book and stationery store, but Howland took her inspiration from an English Valentine she had received from a business associate of her father.^[62][63] Intrigued with the idea of making similar Valentines, Howland began her business by importing paper lace and floral decorations from England.^[63][64] A writer in Graham's American Monthly observed in 1849, "Saint Valentine's Day ... is becoming, nay it has become, a national holyday."^[65] The English practice of sending Valentine's cards was established enough to feature as a plot device in Elizabeth Gaskell's Mr. Harrison's Confessions (1851): "I burst in with my explanations: 'The valentine I know nothing about.' 'It is in your handwriting', said he coldly."^[66] Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual "Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary".^[61]

Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.^[7] In the UK, just under half of the population spend money on their Valentines and around £1.3 billion is spent yearly on cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts, with an estimated 25 million cards being sent.^[67] The mid-19th century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States to follow.^[68]
In the second half of the 20th century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manner of gifts. Such gifts typically include roses, and chocolates packed in a red satin, heart-shaped box. In the 1980s, the diamond industry began to promote Valentine's Day as an occasion for giving jewelry.^{[citation needed]}
The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately 190 million valentines are sent each year in the US. Half of those valentines are given to family members other than husband or wife, usually to children. When the valentine-exchange cards made in school activities are included the figure goes up to 1 billion, and teachers become the people receiving the most valentines.^[60] The average valentine’s spending has increased every year in the U.S, from $108 a person in 2010 to $131 in 2013.^[69]
The rise of Internet popularity at the turn of the millennium is creating new traditions. Millions of people use, every year, digital means of creating and sending Valentine's Day greeting messages such as e-cards, love coupons or printable greeting cards. An estimated 15 million e-valentines were sent in 2010.^[60] Valentine's Day is considered by some to be a Hallmark holiday due to its commercialization.^[70]
In the modern era, liturgically, the Anglican Church has a service for St. Valentine's Day (the Feast of St. Valentine), which includes the optional rite of the renewal of marriage vows.^[71]

Mother's Day

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about a holiday celebrating mothers and motherhood. For other uses, see Mother's Day (disambiguation).

Mother's Day is a modern celebration honoring one's own mother, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March or May. It complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Father's Day and Siblings Day.
The celebration of Mother's Day began in the United States in the early 20th century; it is not related to the many celebrations of mothers and motherhood that have occurred throughout the world over thousands of years, such as the Greek cult to Cybele, the Roman festival of Hilaria, or the Christian Mothering Sunday celebration (originally a celebration of the mother church, not motherhood).^[1][2][3][4] Despite this, in some countries, Mother's Day has become synonymous with these older traditions.^[5]

Founding (United States)

Main article: Mother's Day (United States)

The modern American holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, which now holds the International Mother's Day Shrine.^[6] Her campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States began in 1905, the year her beloved mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, died. Anna's mission was to honor her own mother by continuing work she started and to set aside a day to honor mothers, "the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world". Anna's mother, Ann Jarvis, was a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the Civil War and created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues.
In 1908, the US Congress rejected a proposal to make an official holiday, among jokes that they would have to proclaim also a "Mother-in-law's Day".^[7] Due to the campaign efforts of Anna Jarvis, by 1911 all US states observed the holiday, with some of them officially recognizing Mother's Day as a local holiday,^[7] the first in 1910 being West Virginia, Jarvis' home state. In 1914 Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation creating Mother's Day, the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers.^[8]
Although Jarvis was successful in founding Mother's Day, she soon became resentful of the commercialization and was angry that companies would profit from the holiday. By the early 1920s, Hallmark and other companies started selling Mother's Day cards. Jarvis became so embittered by what she saw as misinterpretation and exploitation that she protested and even tried to rescind Mother's Day. The holiday that she had worked so hard for was supposed to be about sentiment, not about profit.^[9] Jarvis' intention for the holiday had been for people to appreciate and honor mothers by writing a personal letter, by hand, expressing love and gratitude, rather than buying gifts and pre-made cards.^[10] Jarvis organized boycotts and threatened lawsuits to try to stop the commercialization. She crashed a candymakers' convention in Philadelphia in 1923. Two years later she protested at a confab of the American War Mothers, which raised money by selling carnations, the flower associated with Mother's Day, and was arrested for disturbing the peace.^[9][10]
Jarvis' holiday was adopted by other countries and it is now celebrated all over the world.

April Fools' Day

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Wikipedia project page related to April Fools' Day, see WP:APRILFOOLS.

For other uses, see April Fool (disambiguation) and April Fool's Day (disambiguation).

April Fools' Day (sometimes called April Fool's Day or All Fools' Day) is celebrated every year on 1 April by playing practical jokes and spreading hoaxes. The jokes and their victims are called April fools. Some newspapers, magazines, and other published media report fake stories, which are usually explained the next day. Although popular since the 19th century, the day is not a public holiday in any country.
Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1392) contains the first recorded association between 1 April and foolishness.\

In the UK, an April fool joke is revealed by shouting "April fool!" at the recipient, who becomes the "April fool". A study in the 1950s, by folklorists Iona and Peter Opie, found that in the UK, and in countries whose traditions derived from the UK, the joking ceased at midday.^[11] A person playing a joke after midday is the "April fool" themselves.^[12]
In Scotland, April Fools' Day was traditionally called 'Huntigowk Day',^[11] although this name has fallen into disuse.^{[citation needed]} The name is a corruption of 'Hunt the Gowk', "gowk" being Scots for a cuckoo or a foolish person; alternate terms in Gaelic would be Là na Gocaireachd 'gowking day' or Là Ruith na Cuthaige 'the day of running the cuckoo'. The traditional prank is to ask someone to deliver a sealed message that supposedly requests help of some sort. In fact, the message reads "Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile." The recipient, upon reading it, will explain he can only help if he first contacts another person, and sends the victim to this next person with an identical message, with the same result.^[11]

White Day

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White Day

White Day (ホワイトデー Howaito Dē^?) is a day that is marked in Japan, South Korea,^[1] Taiwan,^[2] and China^[3] on March 14, one month after Valentine's Day.

Observation

In Japan, Valentine's Day is typically observed by girls and women presenting chocolate gifts (either store-bought or handmade), usually to boys or men, as an expression of love, courtesy, or social obligation.
On White Day, the reverse happens: men who received a honmei-choco (本命チョコ^?, 'chocolate of love') or giri-choco (義理チョコ^?, 'courtesy chocolate')^[4] on Valentine's Day are expected to return the favor by giving gifts.^[5] Traditionally, popular White Day gifts are cookies, jewelry, white chocolate, white lingerie, and marshmallows.^[6] Sometimes the term literally, sanbai gaeshi (三倍返し^?, 'triple the return') is used to describe the generally recited rule that the return gift should be two to three times the worth of the Valentine's gift.^[7]

Origin

White Day was first celebrated in 1978 in Japan.^[7] It was started by the National Confectionery Industry Association as an "answer day" to Valentine's Day on the grounds that men should pay back the women who gave them chocolate and other gifts on Valentine's Day. In 1977, a Fukuoka-based confectionery company, Ishimuramanseido, marketed marshmallows to men on March 14, calling it Marshmallow Day (マシュマロデー Mashumaro Dē^?).^[7]
Soon thereafter, confectionery companies began marketing white chocolate. Now, men give both white and dark chocolate, as well as other edible and non-edible gifts, such as jewelry or objects of sentimental value, or white clothing like lingerie, to women from whom they received chocolate on Valentine's Day one month earlier.^[5] If the chocolate given to him was giri choco, the man likewise may not be expressing actual romantic interest, but rather a social obligation.
Eventually, this practice spread to the neighboring East Asian countries of South Korea, China, and Taiwan. In those cultures, White Day is for the most part observed in the same manner.