VOA慢速英語:情人節(jié)：紀(jì)念你們愛的日子

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Welcome to American Mosaic in VOA Learning English. I'm June Simms. On the show today we explore thehistory of Valentine's Day.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Americans celebrate theholiday each year on February fourteenth. So do candycompanies, jewelry stores and people selling flowers. Marsha James tells us more about Valentine’s Day in the United States.

Valentine’s Day is for lovers. It is a good day to ask yourboyfriend or girlfriend to marry you. It is also a popularday for marriage ceremonies.

But, other couples might celebrate with dinner at a nicerestaurant.

The holiday is named for Saint Valentine. He was anearly Christian clergyman who was said to have helpedyoung lovers. Valentine was executed for his Christianbeliefs on February fourteenth, more than one thousandseven hundred years ago. But the day that has hisname is even older than that.

The ancient Romans celebrated a holiday for loversmore than two thousand years ago. As part of thecelebration, each girl reportedly wrote her name on a piece of paper and put it in a large container. Each boy reached into the container and pulled out thename of a girl. That girl became his girlfriend for a year.

This couple married high up on the Empire State Building in New York on Valentine's Day.

Lovers still put their names on pieces of paper on Valentine’s Day. They sendeach other cards that express their love. Sometimes they send other gifts,too, like jewelry… or flowers… or candy…or all three!

So Valentine’s Day is big business in America. The National Retail Federationis a trade group. The federation represents retail stores in the United Statesand other countries. It expects the average American to spend about $134 forValentine’s Day this year. That is up about three dollars from 2013. Theorganization also says men will about twice as much on their partners aswomen will. And it says it expects total spending for Valentine’s Day in theUnited States to reach about $17.3 billion.

I'm June Simms. Join us again next week for American Mosaic from VOALearning English.