This lovers’ holiday has become traditional in Ukraine in a very special way. Other new holidays (some of which have already become days off) aren’t remotely as popular. Why? Apparently because someone wanted it this way.
Among other opinions as to the origin of Valentine’s Day, it is believed that a Roman priest secretly wed lovers, contrary to the emperor’s ban on marriages of young men, for he wanted them to remain single and become his soldiers. On learning about this, the emperor ordered that the priest be put to death. And so that noble-hearted priest paid for what would become a lasting international holiday of love with his life.
Another reason for its popularity in Ukraine is the fact that previously we had only March 8 (International Women’s Day) and February 23 (Red Army Day). On both occasions one sex greeted the other. Of course, it was another manifestation of the official Soviet mentality: Let’s love each other en masse. In other words, love in general, not between a man and a woman, although people had their own views on the matter; a boy would bring a flower to school and give it to a girl he liked.
Valentine’s Day is a holiday for two.
A man and a woman are like bodies politic, they can have better or worse relationships, but they are united into an empire of love (One is reminded of In the Realm of Passion), yet their relations can be based on understanding or result in hostilities.
In this sense, Valentine’s Day is an excellent opportunity to start negotiating and achieve peace.
Therefore, send each other valentines, sing your favorite song in a duet, and you’ll live at least another year without major tensions in the sphere of love. Amen.
The Day’s Maryna HOLYNA has a story about Valentine’s Day in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s only city where a monument to lovers was unveiled several years ago.
That day all lovers taking part in the festivities, young and not so young, could participate in funny contests such as Sled Your Wife, and the one for the best couple caused a great deal of enthusiasm; apart from the fact that couples could kiss all they wanted in broad public view, the winners were awarded valuable prizes (basketfuls of wine). Yet the traditional wedding ceremony on the square proved the greatest attraction. In front of thousands of eager onlookers, Yuri Sinitsyn and Maryna Mykhailova swore their lasting love and sealed their pledge with a passionate kiss to the accompaniment of deafening cheers. The organizers later said they had specially chosen a not-so-young couple. Why? Because, in their opinion, young people easily fall in love, but can’t always keep it. The Day doesn’t agree!
During the festivities everyone could also take part in the Kharkiv Valentine action, when helium balloons were attached to a special heart-shaped structure, each with a sweetheart’s name. At the end of the holiday the bight red balloons were let loose, lifting in the winter sky.
