Valentine`s Day - Fred

Valentine's Day
Free audio at www.flexibooks.cz/drive.
OLD AND NEW TRADITIONS
BETH GREEN (USA)
Nowadays we look forward to February 14th, Valentine's
Day*, because of gifts, sweet messages in cards and red
roses. But the original story of the saint1 whose name
was Valentine doesn't include any chocolates or Cupid.
In fact, it's a sad story, not a romantic one!
History
There are several legends that tell us the origin of the
holiday. One legend says that Valentine was a priest2 who
helped Christian3 soldiers in the Roman Empire4 get
married secretly – even though it was illegal. He was put
in prison and then fell in love with the jailer's5 daughter.
The girl was blind6, but Valentine performed a miracle –
he touched her face and then she could see. He was sentenced7 to death, but before he died, he wrote the jailer's
daughter a sweet letter – and this is why we exchange
greeting cards on Valentine's Day today.
Symbols
Other traditions and symbols on Valentine's Day also
have ancient8 origins. For example, one of the oldest
symbols of Valentine's Day is Cupid – the Roman god
of love. In legends, Cupid changed himself to look like
a flying baby and then visited humans. He often helped
people fall in love by giving them a “gift” – shooting
one of the partners in the heart with a magic arrow9.
And red roses symbolize romantic love because of their
connection to the Greek goddess Aphrodite.
New Traditions
We have new traditions, too. In the United States, one of
the most popular traditions for Valentine's Day is going
out for a meal in a restaurant. Even though Valentine's
Day isn't a public holiday – everyone still has to go to
school and work – it's one of the busiest days of the year
for restaurants. Polls10 show that 50 percent of people plan
to go out for a romantic dinner on Valentine's Day in the
USA each year, while 26 percent do the same in the UK.
Christian priest Valentine
L ANGUAGE NOTE
*
We can call the holiday both “St. Valentine's Day”
and “Valentine's Day”.
VOCABULARY
1
2
M ATU R ITA QUESTIONS
• When is Valentine's Day?
• What do we celebrate on Valentine's Day?
• What do you know about the origins of Valentine's Day?
• How do people celebrate Valentine's Day?
• What are some of the popular Valentine's Day's
symbols and gifts?
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
saint [seɪnt] – svatý
priest [priːst] – kněz
Christian [ˈkrɪstʃən] – křesťanský
Roman Empire [ˈrəʊmən ˈempaɪə] – Římská říše
jailer [ˈdʒeɪlə] – žalářník, vězeňský dozorce
blind [blaɪnd] – slepý
sentenced [ˈsentənst] – odsouzený
ancient [ˈeɪnʃənt] – starověký
arrow [ˈærəʊ] – šíp
10
poll [pəʊl] – průzkum veřejného mínění
1
Název: Den
Valentine´s
svatéhoday
Valentýna (článek a poslech)
Téma: Svátky
Zdroj: Časopis Drive \ únor 2015
Tento materiál je určen pouze pro užití ve výuce.
Více informací na www.fred.fraus.cz
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