Atividade sobre Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day

     On February 14th, Americans celebrate Valentine's Day, the day of love and affection.
     The origin of the name comes from St. Valentine. He was a priest in Rome who helped the persecuted Christians. So he was sent to prison and was beaten to death on February 14th, about 270 A.D.
     The romantic meaning of the day comes from the fact that it coincided with the Romam festival Lupercalia. This festival was held on February 15th in honor of the birds which would choose their partners for the mating season on this day. According to the legend, the birds took their big decision on February 14th. Then human beings were encouraged to follow the example for the birds.
     One of the beauties of St. Valentine's Day is that it helps people overcome their shyness. In the nineteenth century, young people started sending anonymous Valentine cards to the boy or girl or their dreams.
     A "valentine" is a greeting card declaring a person's love for someone  usually without giving the name of the sender. The person to whom a "valentine" is sent is also called "valentine".
     Nowadays people still send cards and presents not only to their sweethearts, but also to their friends an relatives.
Revista Speak up, São Paulo, fev. 2008.

Exercises:

1) Responda às perguntas, em português:
a) Qual é o significado de Valentine's Day?
b) Quem foi St. Valentine?
c) Quando ele morreu?

2) Procure, no texto, frases equivalentes ás seguintes:
a) Este festival (Lupercalia) era realizado no dia 15 de fevereiro, em homenagem aos pássaros que escolheriam seus parceiros para a época do acasalamento, nesse dia.
b) De acordo com a lenda, os pássaros tomaram sua grande decisão no dia 14 de fevereiro.

3) Escreva R (right) nas frases que estiverem de acordo com o texto e W (wrong) nas que não estiverem.

(     ) One of the beauties of St. Valentine's Day is that it helps people overcome their sadness.
(     ) In the eighteenth century, young people started sending anonymous Valentine cards to the boy or girl of their dreams.
(     ) A "valentine" is a greeting card declaring a person's love for someone usually without givinh the name of the sender.
(     ) Nowadays people still send cards and presents not only to their sweethearts, but also to their friends and relatives.

Dia dos Namorados.

Já falei com vocês sobre o site Maganews, que tem boas reportagens sobre vários temas em inglês. E com o dia dos namorados chegando, nada melhor do que saber a origem dessa data tão romântica!!!Os alunos adoraram...

The origin of Valentine's Day

Brazil celebrates the date in June, but in other countries the date is celebrated in February. Learn why

     Brazil celebrates Dia dos Namorados on 12th June, but in Europe andNorth America this date is celebrated on 14th February. The probable origin of Dia dos Namorados is Ancient Rome. In the 3rd Century Emperor Claudius II believed that single soldiers were more efficient than the married ones, and so he decided to prohibit weddings during a time set aside for wars. But there was a priest called Valentim who had the courage to celebrate various weddings. One day the emperor discovered this fact and had Valentim killed. The priest died on 14th February and became a saint. In the 17th Century the French and English decided to celebrate, on the same day (14th February) Saint Valentine’s Day and Dia dos Namorados. In the following century the USA adopted “Valentine’s Day”.

Traders profit from the date

  In Brazil the origin of this date is less noble and romantic. In 1949 the advertising executive João Dória returned to Brazil after spending time in Europe. He returned with the idea of introducing Dia dos Namorados to the country. But instead of the date being celebrated in February, the month chosen was June. The reason: the traders always complained about not selling much in June and Dia dos Namorados would make a great excuse to improve sales. The 12th was chosen because it is the eve of Saint Anthony’s day, the “wedding saint.”