双语:情人节的传说

 　　February 14 is Valentine's Day.It is celebrated¹ as a lovers' holiday today,with the giving of candy,flowers,or other gifts between couples in love.Valentine's Day has roots in several different legends that have found their way to us through the ages.

　　In Rome it's said that it originated in 5th Century as a tribute to St.Valentine,a Catholic bishop².

　　For eight hundred years prior to the establishment of Valentine's Day,the Romans had practiced a pagan celebration in mid-February commemorating³ young men's rite⁴ of passage to the god Lupercus.The celebration featured a lottery⁵ in which young men would draw the names of teenage girls from a box.The girl assigned to each young man in that manner would be his female companion during the remaining year.

　　In an effort to do away with the pagan festival.Pope Gelasius ordered a slight change in the lottery.Instead of the names of young women,the box would contain the names of saints.Both men and women were allowed to draw from the box,and the game was to emulate⁶ the ways of the saint they drew during the rest of the year.Needless to say,many of the young Roman men were not too pleased with the rule Changes.

　　Instead of the pagan god Lupercus,the Church looked for a suitable patron saint of love to take his place.They found an appropriate choice in Valentine,who,in AD270 had been beheaded 3 by Emperor Claudius.

　　Claudius had determined⁷ that married men made poor soldiers.So he banned marriage from his empire.But Valentine would secretly marry young men that came to him.When Claudius found out about Valentine,he first tried to convert him to paganism.But Valentine reversed the strategy,trying instead to convert Claudius.When he failed,he was stoned and beheaded.

　　During the days that Valentine was imprisoned⁸,he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer.His love for her,and his great faith,managed to miraculously⁹ heal her from her blindness before his death.Before he was taken to his death,he signed a farewell message to her,"From your Valentine."The phrase has been used on his day ever since.

　　Although the lottery for women had been banned by the church,the mid-February holiday in commemoration of St.Valentine was stilled used by Roman men to seek the affection of women.It became a tradition for the men to give the ones they admired handwritten messages of affection,containing Valentine's name.

　　Another Valentine was an Italian bishop who lived at about the same time,AD 200.He was imprisoned because he secretly married couples,contrary to the laws of the Roman emperor.Some legends say he was burned at the stake.

　　February 14 was also a Roman holiday,held in honor of a goddess.Young men randomly¹⁰ chose the name of a young girl to escort to the festivities.The custom of choosing a sweetheart on this date spread through Europe in the Middle Ages,and then to the early American colonies.Throughout the ages,people also believed that birds picked their mates on February 14!

　　In AD 496 Saint Pope Gelasius I named February 14 as"Valentine's Day".Although it's not an official holiday,most Americans observe this day.

　　The first Valentine card grew out of this practice.The first true Valentine card was sent in 1415 by Charles,duke of Orleans,to his wife.He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time.

　　Cupid,another symbol of the holiday,became associated with it because he was the son of Venus,the Roman god of love and beauty.He is represented by the image of a young boy with bow and arrow.Cupid often appears on Valentine cards.

　　Whatever the odd mixture of origins,St.Valentine's Day is now a day for sweethearts.It is the day that you show your friend or loved one tht you care.You can send candy to someone you think is special.Or you can send roses,the flower of love.

　　2月14日是"情人节"。如今它被人们作为情侣的节日来庆祝，相爱的人之间互赠糖果、鲜花或其他礼物。关于"情人节"的来历，有许多不同的传说经历了漫长的岁月，一直流传至今。

　　在罗马，据说它源自于5世纪，是为了纪念天主教的主教圣·瓦伦丁。

　　在"情人节"确立前800年，罗马人就已经有了一项在2月中旬举行的异教徒庆典活动，年轻人通过庆典来纪念卢帕克斯神。这项庆典的特点是进行抽签，让年轻的男子从盒子里抽取十几岁少女的名字。通过这种方式分配给每一位年轻男子的女孩就成了他那一年的女伴。

　　为了废除这个异教的节日，罗马教皇盖拉西厄斯命令抽签活动必须稍作改动：盒子里面装的不再是年轻女孩的名字，而是圣徒的名字。男人和女人都可以从盒子里抽签，游戏的目的是让他们在本年度里仿效他们所抽到的圣徒的行为方式。不用说，很多罗马的年轻人并不喜欢这种规则的改变。

　　教会决定寻找一位更适合的爱的守护神来代替异教的卢帕克斯神。他们发现瓦伦丁是是一个非常恰当的人选，他于公元270年被克劳迪亚斯王斩首。

　　克劳迪亚斯王坚信已婚男人是无用的战士，因此在他的王国内禁止结婚。但是瓦伦丁却秘密地帮助那些来找他的年轻人主持婚礼。当克劳迪亚斯王发现瓦伦西的行为后，他先是试图使瓦伦丁皈依异教，然而瓦伦丁却将计就计，反过来要使克劳迪亚斯王改信基督教。他失败了，于是被乱石砸死并被砍了头。

　　瓦伦丁在被囚禁的日子里，与监狱长那盲眼的女儿相爱了。在他死前，他对她的爱和极度的忠诚竟然奇迹般地治好了她的眼睛。在他被押赴刑场之前，他在给她的诀别信中，签下了"你的瓦伦丁"。从那以后这句话一直被沿用至今。

　　虽然抽签得女人的活动已经被教会禁止，但罗马的男人依旧利用二月中旬这个纪念瓦伦丁的节日来追求女人的爱情。男人将他们手写的爱情字条签上瓦伦丁的名字，然后送给他们所爱慕的女人，这逐渐演变成了一种传统。

　　另一位瓦伦丁是一位意大利主教，生活在同一时代，大约公元200年。他被投进监狱是因为他秘密地帮别人主持婚礼，这违反了当时罗马帝国的法律。有一些传说说他是被绑在火刑柱上烧死的。

　　2月14日也是罗马人为表示对女神的敬意而庆祝的节日。年轻的男子随便挑选一个年轻女子的名字，该女子便赔他度过这个节庆。中世纪时，在这个日子里选择意中人的习俗传遍了整个欧洲，然后又传到了早期的美洲殖民地。千百年来，人们一直相信鸟儿在2月14日选择配偶。

　　在公元496年，圣徒罗马教皇盖拉西厄斯1世把2月14日命名为"瓦伦丁节"（情人节）。虽然这不是一个官方节日，但大数美国人都很重视这一天。

　　第一张情人节卡片就是在这种情况下诞生的。1415年，奥尔良公爵查尔斯将第一张真正的情人节卡片送给了他的妻子。那时，他正被关在伦敦塔内。

　　丘比特是这个节日的另一个象征，之所以与这个节日有联系，是因为他是罗马爱情和美丽的女神维纳斯的儿子。他被描述成一个带着弓和箭的小男孩的形象。丘比特常常出现在情人节卡片上。

　　无论渊源有多么复杂，"情人节"如今已是情侣们的节日。这是你用来表达你对朋友和爱人的关心的日子。你可以把糖果送给对你来说很特别的人，也可以送爱情的花朵--玫瑰。

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

3 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

4 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

5 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

6 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

9 miraculously   

ad.奇迹般地

参考例句：

• He had been miraculously saved from almost certain death. 他奇迹般地从死亡线上获救。
• A schoolboy miraculously survived a 25 000-volt electric shock. 一名男学生在遭受2.5 万伏的电击后奇迹般地活了下来。

10 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句