A Day to Celebrate Love

A Day to Celebrate Love

庆祝爱情的节日

Every year on February 14th, couples, friends, and families in many countries give each other cards, chocolate, and candy. In fact over one billion cards are sent for this day, second only to Christmas. Children have big parties at school, families send each other cards, and couples might have romantic dinners. What do you do if you are single?

每年2月14日，在许多国家，情侣、朋友和家人会互赠卡片、巧克力和糖果。 事实上，这一天有超过10亿张卡片被寄出，仅次于圣诞节。 孩子们会在学校举办大型聚会，家人会互送卡片，情侣们可能会吃浪漫的晚餐。 如果你是单身，你会做什么?

Well Valentine’s Day is not only for couples. It’s about love, remember! Valentine’s Day is your chance to be bold. Is there a girl or boy that you secretly like? Why not send them a valentine? A valentine is a card with a message inside, like a poem or love letter. You can decide if you want to sign your name or not. So where did the idea of Valentine’s Day come from?

情人节不仅仅是情侣们的节日。请记住这是关于爱的! 情人节是你大胆的机会。你有没有暗恋的女孩或男孩?为什么不给他们寄张情人节贺卡呢? 情人节贺卡是一张里面有信息的卡片，就像一首诗或情书。你可以决定是否要签你的名字。 那么情人节的概念是从哪里来的呢?

In Italy about two thousand years ago, February 14th was a day to celebrate love. It was the day that the queen of the Roman gods, Juno, was honored. Juno was the god of women and marriage. Young Roman women each wrote their name on a piece of paper and put it in a big jar. Every young man in the town picked a name. Then the pairs were partners until the next February. Sometimes they married.

在大约两千年前的意大利，2月14日是庆祝爱情的日子。 这一天是罗马众神的女王朱诺受到尊敬的日子。朱诺是女人和婚姻之神。 年轻的罗马妇女每人把自己的名字写在一张纸上，然后把它放在一个大罐子里。 镇上每个年轻人都起了个名字。直到第二年2月，他们都是搭档。有时他们结婚了。

At one time, however, young lovers in Italy could not marry. It was against the law! Why, you may ask? What could be wrong with people getting married? Emperor Claudius II, the head of the Roman Empire in 270 AD, needed a big army because he fought many wars. He did not have enough soldiers. He believed single men were better soldiers than married men.

然而，曾经有一段时间，意大利的年轻情侣是不能结婚的。 这是违法的!你可能会问，为什么?人们结婚能有什么错呢? 克劳迪亚斯二世是公元270年罗马帝国的首领，他需要一支庞大的军队，因为他打了很多战争。 他没有足够的士兵。他认为单身男人比已婚男人更适合当兵。

If you are married and have a family, you may not want to leave your country and fight in a distant land. If you are single, you may like to join the army for an adventure! Claudius needed more single men to be soldiers, and so he decided to outlaw marriage. People were angry, but they could do nothing.

如果你结了婚，有了家庭，你可能不想离开自己的国家，去遥远的地方打仗。 如果你是单身，你可能会喜欢参军冒险! 克劳迪斯需要更多的单身男人当兵，所以他决定宣布婚姻为非法。 人们很生气，但他们无能为力。