Saint Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day is the day of all people in love. On this day men and women give presents to each other (usually heart-shaped), greeting cards that are also called valentines, flowers, sweets and so on. This holiday is traditionally celebrated in the United States, Canada and European countries. Thanks to the aggressive marketing policy of the manufacturers of all products that are traditionally consumed on this day like greeting cards (the well-known Hallmark Holiday), sweets etc. this holiday is now celebrated in many countries of the world. The most popular symbols on this day are doves, winged cupids, hearts, and the heart-shaped outline of anything. It's been calculated by statistical organizations that the number of the greeting cards sent on Saint Valentine's day each year yields only to the number of Christmas cards. It's also been established that eighty five percent of those who buy such cards on Saint Valentine's day are women.
The history of this holiday is largely controversial as there have been tens of saint Valentines in the history of the Catholic Church. At least two of them may be considered to be the ones in whose name the day is celebrated today. According to a legend, Valentine was a young priest who, despite the prohibition of Emperor Claudius the Second to marry young couples among legionaries (by this decision the emperor wanted to maintain the morale of his army), married them secretly. When the secret was revealed, the priest was jailed. There are several versions of the outcome of this story, but each version's ending is mostly tragic.