There are different opinions about the origin of Valentine's Day. The relatively recognized origin is that there was a tyrant named Claudius in ancient Rome in the third century A.D.. Not far from the tyrant's palace, there is a very beautiful temple. Brother Valentine lives here. The Romans respected him very much. Men and women, old and young, rich and poor, high and low, always gathered around him, listening to Valentine's prayers in front of the blazing flames of the altar.
In this era, the wars in ancient Rome have been continuous, and the tyrant Claudius recruited a large number of citizens to go to the battlefield. In order to ensure people's loyalty to the war, he ordered that people should not get married at this time, and even those who were engaged should break off their engagement. In this way, many young people bid farewell to their lovers and went to the battlefield with indignation.
Valentine was very sad about Claudius' abuse. When a couple came to the temple to ask for his help, Valentine quietly married them in front of the sacred altar. People spread, and many people came here to form partners with Valentine's help. The news finally reached Claudius. He flew into a rage and ordered the soldiers to rush into the temple, dragging Valentine away from a couple who were having a wedding and throwing him into the dungeon. On February 14, 270 AD, Valentine was tortured to death in the dungeon. Sad friends buried him in St. Pula's church.
In memory of Valentine, people later regarded this day as "Valentine's Day". So in English, the literal translation of Valentine's Day is "Saint Valentine's Day".
The Origin of Valentine's Day in China
Valentine's Day in China originated from the story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl, one of the four folk love legends in China.
Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a very clever and honest young man in Niujiazhuang, west of Nanyang. His parents died and he had to live with his brother and sister-in-law. Sister-in-law Ma Shi is very vicious and often abuses him and makes him do a lot of work. One autumn, his sister-in-law forced him to herd cattle and gave him nine cows, but told him not to go home until he had ten cows. The cowherd had no choice but to drive the cow out of the village.
The cowherd drove the cow to the mountains alone. On the mountain with deep grass and dense forest, he sat under the tree and was sad. He doesn't know when he can drive ten cows home. At this time, an old man with white hair and beard appeared in front of him and asked him why he was sad. When he learned what had happened to him, he smiled and said to him, "Don't be sad. There is a sick old cow in Funiu Mountain. You go and feed it well When the old cow is ready, just wait. "
The cowherd walked a long way over the mountains and finally found the sick old cow. Seeing that the old cow was very ill, he went to bundle the grass for the old cow. After feeding for three days in a row, the old cow looked up and told him that he was a great fairy in the sky, but he was sent to heaven because he broke his leg and could not move. His injury needs to be washed with toilet water for a month. Cowherd carefully took care of old Niu Yi for a month, picking flowers for the old cow during the day and sleeping beside the old man at night. After the old cow recovered, the cowherd happily drove ten cows home.
After returning home, my sister-in-law is still not good to him. She hurt him several times and was saved by the old cow. Finally, my sister-in-law got angry and drove the cowherd out of the house. The cowherd only wanted the old cow to accompany him.
One day, the weaver girl in the sky played games with the fairies and took a bath in the river. With the help of the old cow, the cowherd got to know the Weaver Girl, and they hit it off. Later, the Weaver Girl sneaked into the world and became the wife of the Cowherd. The weaver girl also distributed wild silkworms brought from the sky to everyone, teaching them to raise silkworms and spin silks and weave bright silks and satins.
After the marriage of Cowherd and Weaver Girl, a man plowed and a woman weaved, giving birth to a man and a woman, and the family lived happily. However, the good times did not last long, and this matter was soon known by the Emperor of Heaven. The heavenly queen herself came down to earth and forcibly brought the weaver girl back to heaven, and the loving couple separated from each other. Cowherd had no way to go to heaven, but the old cow told Cowherd that he could wear shoes with his own skin after he died. The cowherd did as the old cow said, put on shoes made of cowhide, took his children with him, and flew in the sky together to chase the Weaver Girl. It was almost time to catch up with the Weaver Girl, but with a wave of the golden hairpin pulled from her head by the Queen Mother, a choppy Tianhe appeared. Cowherd and Weaver Girl are separated from each other on both sides, and they can only cry at each other. Their loyal love touched the magpies, and thousands of magpies flew in and built a magpie bridge to let the cowherd and the weaver girl meet on it. The queen mother had no choice but to promise them to meet at Queqiao on July 7th every year.
Later, every year from the first day of July to the seventh day of July, that is, the day when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet, the girls will come to the flowers and the moon, look up at the starry sky, look for the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl on both sides of the Milky Way, hope to see their annual meeting, pray to God that they will be as ingenious as the Weaver Girl, and pray that they will have a happy marriage, thus forming the "Qixi".