VALENTINE DAY !

Valentine Day History
There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine’s Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries. Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer’s daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it “From Your Valentine”. Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St. Valentine.
Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a ball.

In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800’s and now the date is very commercialised. The town of Loveland, Colorado, does a large post office business around February 14. The spirit of good continues as valentines are sent out with sentimental verses and children exchange valentine cards at school.

The History of Saint Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.
The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honour of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.

The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavoured to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine’s Day for the celebration of this new feaSt. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.

St. Valentine’s Story
Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn’t like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn’t the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.
Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn’t going to support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies — secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, “Love from your Valentine.”

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine’s Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh — because they know that love can’t be beaten!

Valentine Traditions
Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine’s Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was:
Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine —
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine.

In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, “You unlock my heart!”

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.

In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him.

Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.

A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an S-shape. In this way, a couple could sit together — but not too closely!

Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.

Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have.

If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.

Is the Glass Half-full Or Half-empty?

Keep focusing on the fullness of your life: Keep remembering your dreams, your strengths, your unique talents and skills. Be absolutely, uniquely, fully yourself and you have everything you need to create the life of your dreams. -Marc Allen

The reason you’re not living your dreams is because not all parts of you are in alignment with your promise.

Your dream will not actualize until you have all the skills you need. Since it takes time to cultivate the full glass, you will find your glass only half-full or half-empty.

As you work on developing all your skills, you will also be buffeted by stronger forces.

If you want to be a writer, you have to learn the craft. Assuming you know how to be clear and expressive, you may still find yourself unpublished. So you need the additional skill of learning how to market your writing.

Only when all your skills are complete will you be able to fully express your dream.

This gap between talent and opportunity can be bridged once you discover what you need to learn.

While you’re in this state of trying to develop the entire experience, you will face opposition. Stronger ego states and life conditions will press hard against you.

Those ego-states concerned with approval, safety, and control will keep you away from cultivating your dream.

Similarly environmental conditions arising from past experiences will distract you.

These two conditions are sufficient to keep most people living inauthentic lives, where they do what works but not what gives them true self-expression and joy.

It is at these times of trial and hardship that you may be tempted to focus on looking at the glass as half-empty.

Yet the only way to raise your child-genius into full maturity is to persist.

You have to hold your vision despite low moods, alternate desires, and pressing circumstances.

Talent is seldom nurtured in ideal environments. Usually, you have to tend the small flame of your dreams in the face of strong winds. Only by persisting will you eventually have a fire greater than an opposing draft.

You keep your dreams alive by focusing on how far you’ve come.

You have to hold your vision and practice it.

When you persist in this way, you’ll move closer to your goals.

When you persist long enough, you’ll find yourself living your dream.

Fear of Failure

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.
Theodore Roosevelt

 

Half of the failures in life come from pulling one’s horse when he is leaping.
Thomas Hood

 

Go back a little to leap further.
John Clarke

 

Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.
William Shakespeare

 

There is no impossibility to him who stands prepared to conquer every hazard. The fearful are the failing.
Sarah J. Hale

 

Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.
George Herman “Babe” Ruth

 

Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortunes; but great minds rise above them.
Washington Irving

 

Our greatest glory consist not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
Oliver Goldsmith

 

Wherever we look upon this earth, the opportunities take shape within the problems.
Nelson A. Rockefeller

 

It is the want of diligence, rather than the want of means, that causes most failures.
Alfred Mercier

 

Disappointments are to the soul what thunderstorms are to the air.
Johann C. F. von Schiller

 

Failure teaches success.
Japanese Saying

 

Try to play WIN-WIN Game !

Really life is so much frustrating here. The current situation is so much polluted. We brought the revolution not by the war that held for 10 years but with the peace protest of 19 days and actually it leads us to the world of new charm but we are heading towards the same way that we already been. Hence, we should have to bring something really admirable and new that really attach with each and every nepalese real feelings. From my point of view, Politics is the WIN-WIN game but we don’t understand the simple funda of Politics and we are converting it to WIN-LOSE game.

If you are doing mistake taht alwasy means u are doing something and doing something is far better doing nothing. Hence, It is quite good to fight for the right that we must have. As we all know that we can’t stop people complaining about the mistake. For example, there is very good pink color painted in one wall and it is really looking very good and there is also one black spot at the corner and people just keep on commenting about the black spot and forget the beautifullness of the pink color that painted in the wall.

We must have to play the win-win game then only the main essence of LOKTANTRA comes to the main extreme.

THis is my first try………………If something then don’t forget to give positive feedback.