The 14 th of February… St. Valentines day

Every February we celebrate Valentines Day by giving flowers, candy and cards to those we love. We do this in honor of Saint Valentine. You may be wondering, "Who is St. Valentine"? Legend has it that Valentine was a priest who married couples without the permission of their parents. He was imprisoned. There he fell in love with his jailor's daughter. Before he was put to death he sent the first 'valentine' himself when he wrote her a letter and signed it 'Your Valentine', words still used on cards today.

Amazing facts of Valentines Day: About 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are exchanged in US each year. Women purchase 85% of all valentines. About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's Day gifts to their pets Men buy most of the millions of boxes of candy and bouquets of flowers given on Valentine's Day.

Valentine day in Britain. St Valentine's Day is celebrated with joy, enthusiasm and charm in Britain. Just as in many other countries, people in Britain express love for their beloved on this day by presenting them flowers, cards, chocolates and other special gifts.

Different regions of the country have their specific traditions to celebrate Valentine's Day but one uniform custom is the singing of special songs by children. These children are rewarded with gifts of candy, fruit or money.

Symbols: Roses Dove Love knot

Roses Red Roses - Love and passion Yellow Roses - Friendship White Roses - True love and purity of the mind Pink Roses - Friendship or Sweetheart Black Roses - Farewell

Doves The symbol traces its origin from a belief in the olden times that birds found their mate on February 14. Interestingly, lovers across the world till date hold on to this belief. Reason why doves and lovebirds are considered strongly as a symbol of Valentine's Day is that while doves signify purity, innocence and humbleness picture of lovebirds conjures up the vision of couple in love. A special characteristic of doves and pigeons is their extreme loyalty to their mates. Unlike most other animals that go from partner to partner, doves remain with one partner all through their life. This is why, doves are recognized as a symbol of love and loyalty on Valentine's Day.

Love knots Representing love that will last forever, love knots are actually a series of winding and intertwining loops that have neither a beginning nor an end.