Americans celebrate Valentine's Day each year on February fourteenth.

 

美国人在每年的2月14日庆祝情人节。

It is a holiday for lovers.

这是情人们的节日。

Valentine's Day is a good day for a man to ask his girlfriend to marry him.

情人节是男士向女友求婚的好日子。

It is also a good day for couples to get married.

同样,情人节也是情人们结婚的好日子。

Other couples might go out for a special meal at a nice restaurant.

其他的夫妇可能会道外面找家优雅的餐厅好好吃上一餐。

The holiday is named for Saint Valentine.

情人节是以瓦伦丁命名的。

He was an early Christian churchman who reportedly helped young lovers.

他是早期的基督教徒，据说他帮助了许多年轻的情侣。

Valentine was executed for his Christian beliefs on February fourteenth, more than 1,700 years ago.

1700多年前的2月14日，瓦伦丁由于其基督教信仰而被处死了。

But the day that has his name is even older than that.

虽然情人节以瓦伦丁命名，但它的起源比这一时间还要早。

The ancient Romans celebrated a holiday for lovers more than 2,000 years ago.

2000多年前，古罗马人就开始庆祝情人们的节日。

As part of the celebration,each girl wrote her name on a piece of paper and put it in a large container.

作为情人节庆祝活动的一部分，姑娘们把她们的名字分别写字一张张纸条上，然后把纸条放进一个大盒子里。

Each boy reached into the container and pulled out the name of a girl.

小伙子们把手伸进盒子里抽出姑娘的名字。

That girl became his girlfriend for a year.

被抽中的姑娘就要在接下来的一年中做他的女友。

Lovers still put their names on pieces of paper on Valentine's Day.

如今，情人们仍在情人节这天把她们的名字写在一张张纸条上。

They send each other cards that express their love.

他们互赠情人节卡片，以此表达他们的爱慕之情。

Sometimes they send other gifts, too,like jewelry... or flowers... or candy... or all three!

有时，他们也会送其他礼物，如珠宝，鲜花或是糖果，或者这三种都送。

Americans usually send cards through the mail system or in a computer message.

美国人通常会通过邮局或电子邮件寄送卡片。

But there is another way many Americans send messages of love on Valentine's Day.

在情人节这一天，许多美国人还有另外一种互诉情衷的方式。

They pay to have them printed in a newspaper.

他们花钱把要传达的爱慕之情刊登在报纸上。

Some of these messages are simple and short:Susan, I love you very much. From John.

有的信息简单明了:苏珊，我非常爱你，约翰。

Others say more, like this example:David, roses are red, violets are blue.I hope you love me as much as I love you. Forever, Mary.

有的信息会长一些，比如:大卫，玫瑰是红色的，紫罗兰是紫色的，我希望你像我爱你那样爱我，直到永远，玛丽。

There is only one problem in sending a Valentine's Day message this way.

这种表达爱意的唯一缺憾是:

It will only reach the one you love if he or she reads the newspaper that day!

如果你的爱人没有读当天报纸中的这栏信息，那么你的爱意就无法传达给对方。