Valentine’s Day: All About Love | practice English with Spotlight

00:11 - And I’m Colin Lowther. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting.

00:19 - It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

00:36 - Seventeen hundred years ago, in the city of Rome, a man was put in prison.

00:46 - He was a Christian believer. And he had not obeyed the Emperor.

00:54 - He was sentenced to be executed. While this man was in prison, he met a young woman.

01:06 - She was the daughter of the prison guard. She visited this man’s prison cell often.

01:16 - They could not always talk together. So he and the woman began to pass notes to each other through the prison bars.

01:30 - They fell in love with each other. When it was time for the prison to execute the man, he sent her one last letter.

01:45 - The last note he sent to her was a love note.

01:51 - He ended it, “from, your Valentine. ” Some people believe that this is the story that started the holiday we now know as Valentine’s Day.

02:12 - All around the world people celebrate this holiday on February 14th.

02:21 - They celebrate it in many different ways. But the message is the same everywhere — love! Today’s Spotlight is on Valentine’s Day! No one really knows if this story about the man, named Valentine, and the prison guard’s daughter is true.

02:55 - The holiday is actually named after at least two men, both named Valentine.

03:05 - Historians, people who study history, have little information about either of these men.

03:15 - Both men died because of their Christian faith - one died in 197 and one in 269.

03:29 - Historians believe that both men died on February 14th.

03:35 - Later, the Christian church recognized these men as saints — people of strong faith.

03:45 - And February 14th became Saint Valentine’s Day.

03:52 - Historical documents show that, originally, Valentine’s Day had little to do with love.

04:02 - A recorded link between Valentine’s Day and love did not appear until about 1,200 years later.

04:21 - In 1382 Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem about love.

04:29 - He was a famous English Poet. The poem told about birds coming together half-way through the second month of the year.

04:42 - The birds met on Valentine’s Day, to mate. The poem influenced many people.

04:52 - And soon after, other writers began to use these ideas in their own writing.

05:01 - The link between Valentine’s Day and love became common! By the 17th century, Valentine’s Day was celebrated all over Great Britain.

05:18 - About a hundred years later, people began to exchange small gifts or notes on Valentine’s Day.

05:30 - These gifts were an expression of love between family, friends, and lovers.

05:41 - Today, many people still celebrate Valentine’s Day in this way.

05:52 - They send a greeting card. These are usually just a simple paper note that expresses love or devotion.

06:04 - A person can send a Valentine’s Day greeting card to his lover, his parents, his co-worker, or even his doctor! In fact, the Greeting Card Association says that world-wide, people send over one billion greeting cards every Valentine’s Day! People in Canada, Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Australia all celebrate Valentine’s Day this way.

06:45 - But greeting cards are not the only thing people give or do.

06:53 - People may go out to a special dinner. They may buy each other a present, or just some good-tasting candy or chocolate.

07:06 - Other countries do different things. On Valentine’s Day in Japan, women give sweet candy, chocolate or flowers to people they like.

07:27 - They call this chocolate ‘giri-choko. ’ In Japanese, the word ‘giri’ means obligation, or, something someone must do.

07:40 - And ‘choko’ is a short form of the word for chocolate.

07:47 - A woman may also give ‘honmei-choko’ to a person she loves or is in a relationship with.

07:57 - Or she can give ‘tomo-choko’ to her friends.

08:02 - This may seem nice for the men. But men who received honmei-choko must also give the women a present.

08:15 - This happens on White Day, one month later.

08:21 - On that day, a man must give the woman a present worth two to three times more than the present he got! Sora News 24 is a Japanese news site.

08:40 - It shared results of a survey about this tradition.

08:47 - Most men do not like it. In the survey, one Japanese man wrote: “I like getting the chocolates.

09:01 - But I hate having to buy every girl something in return.

09:06 - Honmei-choco is even worse, because you have to buy something super expensive on White Day!” In Finland they celebrate ‘Friend’s Day’ on February 14.

09:25 - This is not only a day for people in love. But, it is a day for celebrating and remembering your friends.

09:37 - Some places do not celebrate Valentine’s Day at all.

09:43 - But they do celebrate a different day for love.

09:49 - People living in Brazil celebrate ‘Boyfriend or Girlfriend Day. ’ On June 12th, people in love exchange gifts like chocolates, cards, flowers, and even special clothes.

10:09 - Some women even use this day to perform special customs.

10:16 - They believe these customs will help them find a good boyfriend or husband.

10:25 - Colombians celebrate ‘Love and Friendship Day’ on the 3rd Friday and Saturday in September.

10:34 - And many groups of people join in a popular tradition called ‘amigo secreto’ or ‘secret friend. ’ Each member of the group chooses another member’s name by chance.

10:52 - He gives the person he chose a gift on this day.

10:59 - So, people in different places celebrate a day like Valentine’s Day.

11:08 - They may celebrate it at a different time of the year.

11:14 - They may give gifts or greeting cards. They may write a special note to many people or to only one person.

11:26 - But there is a common idea in all of these actions.

11:32 - Valentine’s Day is a time to think about the people around you.

11:40 - It is a time to think about the people you love.

11:47 - It is important for people to feel loved. But often, we do not express our love for the people around us.

12:00 - So, Valentine’s Day offers people the perfect chance to tell other people how much you value them.

12:12 - Tell your wife or husband, or girlfriend or boyfriend how much you love them.

12:21 - Tell your parents or children how wonderful they are.

12:27 - Tell your friends how much you like to see them.

12:35 - Do you love someone? You should tell them! Then, tell US about what makes them so wonderful! You can leave a comment on our website.

12:50 - Or email us at radio@radioenglish. net. You can also comment on Facebook at Facebook. com/spotlightradio.

13:08 - The writers of this program were Liz Waid and Adam Navis.

13:13 - The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom.

13:23 - All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight.

13:30 - You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www. radioenglish. net.

13:42 - This program is called, ‘Valentine’s Day: All About Love’.

13:49 - Look for our listening app in the Google Play Store and in iTunes.

13:57 - We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program.

14:02 - Goodbye. .