Read the text and match each paragraph to the headline. One title is extra
1. HOW PEOPLE CELEBRATE NOW
2. WHEN DID CARD SENDING START?
3. ST VALENTINE DAY IN AUSTRALIA
4. WHAT IS VALENTINE'S DAY?
5. WHY IT IS CALLED VALENTINE'S DAY
A. Valentines Day, or St Valentine's Day, is celebrated every year on 14
February. It's the day when people show their affection for another person
(or people!) by sending anonymous cards, flowers or chocolates with
messages of love.
B. The day gets its name from a famous saint, but there are several stories
of who he was. The most popular is that St Valentine was a priest from
Rome in the third century AD. Emperor Claudius II had banned marriage
because he thought married men were bad soldiers. Valentine thought
this was unfair, so he broke the rules and arranged marriages in secret.
When Claudius found out, Valentine was thrown into jail and sentenced
to death. There, he fell in love with the jailor's blind daughter. His love and
belief in God cured her blindness, and when he was taken to be killed on
14 February he sent her a love letter signed "From your Valentine".
C. Gradually, St Valentine's name started to be used mainly by men to ex-
press their feelings to those they loved. Valentine's Day became popular
in the UK in the 17th century. By the 18th century it was traditional for
people to exchange handwritten messages of affection. Printed cards soon
replaced these, making it easier for people to say "I love you" secretly.
D. Today Valentine's Day is a massive holiday, with celebrations of love
worldwide from India to Iceland. But it's not just about sending messages
to people you love - you can also just say you care! In the UK, great
money is spent by people on the most romantic day of the year: 22 million
spent on flowers, 7 million red roses are sent, 12 million cards are sent.
In 2001, when text messaging exploded, there were around 30 million
WUBMV (Will You Be My Valentine?) messages sent! So, have a happy
Valentine's Day but remember: don't feel left out if you don't get a card -
it's the giving that counts!​

gulitenko    1   08.02.2021 09:06    0