双语学习：情人节的来源

双语学习：情人节的来源

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and giftsare exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St.Valentine.

每年二月，全国上下，相爱的人们都以圣瓦伦丁的名义，彼此交换糖果、鲜花和礼物。

But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate thisholiday? The history of Valentine’s Day一and its patron saint一isshrouded in mystery.

但是这个神秘的圣徒是谁呢?为什么我们要庆祝这个节日?情人节的历史以及这个圣徒都笼罩在神秘之中。

But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. 这并不妨碍我们知道:二月，很久以来就是一个浪漫的月份。

St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Romantradition.

我们今天知道，圣瓦伦丁节包含了基督教和古罗马的传统的双重遗迹。

So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? 那么，圣瓦伦丁是谁以及他又是如何与这个古老的仪式联系上的呢?

Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus,all of whom were m rtyred.

今天，天主教廷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。

While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemoratethe anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial一which probably occurred around 270 A.D一

othersclaim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle ofFebruary in an effort to \a festival.

然而，一些人相信二月中旬庆祝圣瓦伦丁节的活动是为了纪念圣瓦伦丁的死亡或者人葬这件事情—大约发生在公元270年;也有的人声称基督教会决定在二月中旬庆祝圣瓦伦丁节，目的也许是为了把异教徒罗马人的牧神节给基督教化。

In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time forpurification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkli

ng salt and atype of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides ofFebruary, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture,as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. 在古罗马，二月是官方规定的春季的开始，是被当做是洁身赎罪的时节。各家各户都遵照仪式把屋舍打扫干净，再在里面遍洒盐和斯佩耳特小麦。在二月的第十五天开始的古罗马牧神节是一个为了纪念罗马农业之神福纳斯的生产、繁殖的节日，同时也是为了纪念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 thesacred cave where the infants Romufus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to havebeen cared for by a she-wolf or lupa.The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and adog, for purification.

节日开始的时候，鲁佩其(古罗马牧师的一种位次排列)的成员就会聚集在据说是罗马城的两位创立者罗穆卢斯和瑞摩斯当初被母狼抚养的那个神圣的山洞里。然后牧师们为了祈求繁殖，会献上一只山羊;为了表示纯洁，再献上一只狗。

The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took tothe streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far frombeing fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed thestrips would make them more fertile in the coming year. 接下来，男孩子们把山羊皮割成一条一条的，浸泡在祭祀牲畜的血液中，之后再拿着这种山羊条到街道上去，轻碰女子和田地里的庄稼。古罗马的女子们根本不害怕，相反，她们非常欢迎被沾血的山羊皮碰到，因为那被认为可以使得她们来年生养更多的孩子。

Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in abig urn. The city’s bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become pairedfor the year with his chosen woman.These matches often ended in marriage.

这天的晚些时节，据说全城所有的年轻女子都会把自己的名字写在一个很大的瓮上。而城里的单身汉们则会从上面选择一个名字，再和选择的女子当年配对。这种相配方式通常会发展为婚姻。

Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. 大约公元498年，教皇基拉西厄斯宣布二月十四日为圣瓦伦丁节。

The Roman \

其实，古罗马人的这种抓阉式的配对方式被认为是不符合基督教教义，是非法的行为。

Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14was the beginning of birds’mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February一Valentine's Day一should be a day for romance.

稍后，到了中世纪时期，人们普遍认为在法国和英国二月十四日是鸟儿们开始交配的季节的开始，这也加强了二月中旬—圣瓦伦丁节—应该是一个浪漫的日子的想法。

The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke ofOrleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at theBattle of Agincourt.

已知的并且如今还现存的最古老的圣瓦伦丁节礼物是奥尔良的公爵查尔斯写给他的妻子的一首诗，他当时因在阿金库尔战役上被俘而被囚禁在英国的伦敦塔里。

The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library inLondon, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named JohnLydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois. 这首诗的写作年代是1415年，现存于伦敦大英图书馆的手稿区。几年后，据说亨利五世也雇了一位叫做约翰·利德盖特的作家给他在瓦庐瓦的情人凯瑟琳写了一封情书。

In great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century.

在英国，圣瓦伦丁节大约是在十七世纪时才开始广泛庆祝的。

By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classesto exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes.

到了十八世纪中期，所有社会阶层的朋友以及情人们在这天彼此交换表达感情的礼物或者手写的信笺的现象就已经非常普遍了。

By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to …… 此处隐藏：6409字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……