Valentine day

Valentine's Day, also known as Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine,^[1] is a celebration observed on February 14 each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it is not a public holiday in most of them.

St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. Several martyrdom stories were invented for the various Valentines that belonged to February 14, and added to later martyrologies.^[2] A popularhagiographical account of Saint Valentine of Rome states that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. An embellishment to this story states that before his execution he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell.^[3] Saint Valentine's Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion,^[4] as well as in the Lutheran Church.^[5] Some part, but not all of the Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrates Saint Valentine's Day, albeit onJuly 6 and July 30, the former date in honor of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and the latter date in honor of HieromartyrValentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni). In Greek Orthodox Church and other Churches of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, no Saint Valentine exists, nor venerated.

The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition ofcourtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). In Europe, Saint Valentine's Keys are given to lovers "as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart", as well as to children, in order to ward off epilepsy(called Saint Valentine's Malady).^[6] Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.^[7]

Hug day

Hug day

A hug, sometimes in association with a kiss, is a form of nonverbal communication. Depending on culture, context and relationship, a hug can indicate familiarity, love, affection, friendship, brotherhood or sympathy.^[1] A hug can indicate support, comfort, and consolation, particularly where words are insufficient. A hug usually demonstrates affection and emotional warmth, sometimes arising from joy or happiness when reunited with someone or seeing someone absent after a long time. A non-reciprocal hug may demonstrate a relational problem. A hug can range from a brief one second squeeze, with the arms not fully around the partner, to an extended holding. The length of a hug in any situation is socially and culturally determined. In the case of lovers, and occasionally others, the hips may also be pressed together.

Unlike some other types of physical contact, a hug can be practiced publicly and privately without stigma in many countries, religions and cultures, within families, and also across age and gender lines, ^[2] but is generally an indication that people are familiar with each other. Moving from a handshake (or touch-free) relationship to a hug relationship is a sign of a closer friendship such as best friends^{[citation needed]}.

An unexpected hug can be regarded as an invasion of a person's personal space, but if it is reciprocated it is an indication that it is welcome. Some Western culture commentators advise avoiding hugs at work to prevent uncomfortable moments, especially with people who dislike hugging.^[3] Also, a person, especially a child, may caress and hug a doll or stuffed animal. Young children will also hug their parents when they feel threatened by an unfamiliar person, although this may be regarded as clinging onto rather than hugging because it demonstrates a need for protection rather than affection.

While less common, hugging may be undertaken as part of a ritual or social act in certain social groups. It is a custom in Latin cultures such asFrance, Spain and Latin America for male friends to hug (as well as slap each other on the back) in a joyous greeting. A similar hug, usually accompanied by a kiss on the cheek, is also becoming a custom among Western women at meeting or parting. In Portugal and Brazil, it is common, mostly among males, to finish letters and emails with Um abraço or Abraço followed by the sender's signature. Similar formulas may be used in oral communication.

In May 2009, The New York Times reported that "the hug has become the favorite social greeting when teenagers meet or part these days" in the United States.^[4] A number of schools in the United States have issued bans on hugs, which in some cases have resulted in student-led protests against these bans.^[5][6] In the Roman Catholic rite of the Holy Mass a hug may be substituted for a kiss or handshake during the kiss of peace ritual. Some cultures^{[citation needed]} do not use hugging as a sign of affection or love, such as theHimba in Namibia. During the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, it is halal (permissible) for someone to hug one's significant other during daylight hours if one has self-control. However if accompanied by libidinous urges, it is haram (sinful).^[7]

Hugging has been proven to have health benefits. One study has shown that hugs increase levels of oxytocin and reduce blood pressure.^[8] A group hug has been found to be a useful tool in group therapy to cement a sense of cohesion among the participants after a session,^[9] although it may cause discomfort for group members who shy away from physical contact.^[9]

Credit: Djjohal

Kiss day

Kiss day

A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, sexual activity, sexual arousal,affection, respect, greeting, friendship, peace and good luck, among many others. In some situations a kiss is a ritual, formal or symbolic gesture indicating devotion, respect, or sacrament. The word came from Old English cyssan (“to kiss”), in turn from coss (“a kiss”).

Anthropologists are divided into two schools on the origins of kissing, one believing that it is instinctual and intuitive and the other that it evolved from what is known as kiss feeding, a process used by mothers to feed their infants by passing chewed food to their babies' mouths.^[1] Cesare Lombroso, Italian criminologist, physician and founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology, supported this idea.^[2]

The earliest reference to kissing-like behavior comes from the Vedas, Sanskrit scriptures that informed Hinduism, Buddhism and the Jain religion, around 3,500 years ago, according to Vaughn Bryant, an anthropologist at Texas A&M University who specializes in the history of the kiss.^[3]

During the later Classical period, affectionate mouth-to-mouth kissing was first described in the Hindu epic, the “Mahabharata”.^[4]

Academics who have studied it say kissing spread slowly to other parts of the world after Alexander the Great and his army conquered parts of Punjab in northern India in 326 B.C.^[5]

Both lip and tongue kissing are mentioned in Sumerian poetry:^[6]

My lips are too small, they know not to kiss.

My precious sweet, lying by my heart,

one by one "tonguemaking," one by one.

When my sweet precious, my heart, had lain down too,

each of them in turn kissing with the tongue, each in turn.^[7]

Kissing is described in the surviving Ancient Egyptian love poetry from the New Kingdom, found on papyri excavated at Deir el-Medina:

Finally I will drink life from your lips

and wake up from this ever lasting sleep.

The wisdom of the earth in a kiss

and everything else in your eyes.

I kiss her before everyone

that they all may see my love.^[8]

And when her lips are pressed to mine

I am made drunk and need not wine.

When we kiss, and her warm lips half open,

I fly cloud-high without beer!

His kisses on my lips, my breast, my hair...

...Come! Come! Come! And kiss me when I die,

For life, compelling life, is in thy breath;

And at that kiss, though in the tomb I lie,

I will arise and break the bands of Death.^[9]

The earliest reference to kissing in the Old Testament is in Genesis 27:26, when Jacob deceives his father to obtain his blessing:

And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

A little later, we have the first man-woman kiss in the Bible in Genesis 31:11, when Jacob flees from Esau and comes to the house of his uncle Laban:

And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.

Much later, there is the oft-quoted verse from the Song of Songs:

May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,

for your love is better than wine.^[10][11]

In Cyropaedia (370 BC), Xenophon talks about the Persian custom of kissing in the lips upon departure while narrating the departure of Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC) as a boy from his Median kinsmen.^[12] According to Herodotus (5th century BC), when two Persian meet, the greeting formula expresses their equal or inequal status. They do not speak; rather, equals kiss each other on the mouth, and in the case where one is a little inferior to the other, the kiss is given on the cheek.^[13][14]

The Romans helped to spread the habit to most of Europe and north Africa.^[15] The Romans were passionate about kissing and talked about several types of kissing. Kissing the hand or cheek was called a osculum. Kissing on the lips with mouth closed was called an basium, which was used between relatives. A kiss of passion was called a suavium.^[16]

Kissing was not always an indication of eros, or love, but also could show respect and rank as it was used in Medieval Europe.

The study of kissing started some time in the nineteenth century and is called Philematology, which has been studied by people including Cesare Lombroso, Ernest Crawley,Charles Darwin, Edward Burnett Tylor and modern scholars such as Elaine Hatfield.^[17][18]

Promise day

Promise day

The Promised Day Brigade (PDB)  Liwa al-Youm al-Mawud), originally called the Muqawimun(Arabic: المقاومون; Resisters)^[3] was a Shi'a organization and was an insurgent group operating in Iraq during the war. In 2010 it was one of the largest and most powerful of what the US military call "Special Groups" in Iraq.^[4] The group was created as successor to Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, which was Iraq's largest Shi'a militia until its disbanding in 2008, he also called on other Special Groups to join the brigade. Sadr had earlier already talked about the creation of a smaller guerrilla unit which would continue the Mahdi Army's armed activities but for the first time gave the organisation a name in November 2008 when he declared the creation of the Promised Day Brigade.^[5] Its activities have particularly increased since May 2009.^[3] The group is alleged^{[by whom?]} to receive Iranian support. A crackdown against the group in end 2009 led to the arrest of 18 of its members including several commanders.^[6] On November 29, 2009, the group's Basra leader was arrested in al-Amarah.^[7]

In October 2009 the Promised Day Brigade fought a battle with rival Special Group Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq for influence in Sadr City. The Promised Day Brigade reportedly won the battle and even managed to destroy the house of Abdul Hadi al-Darraji, a senior Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq leader. Since then the PDB has been the most powerful Special Group in the ex-Mahdi Army stronghold of Sadr City and has increased its activity there.^[8]

On July 21, 2010 General Ray Odierno said Iran supports three Shiite groups in Iraq that had attempted to attack US bases:^[9]US officials believe that of these three groups, the Promised Day Brigades poses the greatest threat to Iraq's long-term security.^[2]

Teddy day

A teddy bear is a soft toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the US and Richard Steiff in Germany in the early years of the 20th century, and named after President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, the teddy bear became an iconic children's toy, celebrated in story, song, and film.^[1] Since the creation of the first teddy bears which sought to imitate the form of real bear cubs, "teddies" have greatly varied in form, style and material. They have become collector's items, with older and rarer "teddies" appearing at public auctions.^[2] Teddy bears are among the most popular gifts for children and are often given to adults to signify love, congratulations, or sympathy.

The name teddy bear comes from former United States President Theodore Roosevelt, who was commonly known as "Teddy" (though he loathed being referred to as such).^[3] The name originated from an incident on a bear hunting trip in Mississippi in November 1902, to which Roosevelt was invited by Mississippi Governor Andrew H. Longino. There were several other hunters competing, and most of them had already killed an animal. A suite of Roosevelt's attendants, led by Holt Collier,^[4] cornered, clubbed, and tied an American black bearto a willow tree after a long exhausting chase with hounds. They called Roosevelt to the site and suggested that he should shoot it. He refused to shoot the bear himself, deeming this unsportsmanlike, but instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery,^[5][6] and it became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902.^[7] While the initial cartoon of an adult black bear lassoed by a handler and a disgusted Roosevelt had symbolic overtones, later issues of that and other Berryman cartoons made the bear smaller and cuter.^[8Morris Michtom saw the drawing of Roosevelt and was inspired to create a teddy bear. He created a tiny soft bear cub and put it in the shop window with a sign "Teddy's bear," after sending a bear to Roosevelt and receiving permission to use his name. The toys were an immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co.^[6]

At the same time in Germany, the Steiff firm, unaware of Michtom's bear, produced a stuffed bear from Richard Steiff's designs. Steiff exhibited the toy at the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903, where it was seen by Hermann Berg, a buyer for George Borgfeldt & Company in New York (and the brother of composer Alban Berg^[9]). He ordered 3000 to be sent to the United States.^[10] Although Steiff's records show that the bears were produced, they are not recorded as arriving in the U.S., and no example of the type, "55 PB", has ever been seen, leading to the story that the bears were shipwrecked. However, the story is disputed - Gunther Pfieffer notes that it was only recorded in 1953 and says it is more likely that the 55 PB was not sufficiently durable to survive until the present day.^[11] Although Steiff and Michtom were both making teddy bears at around the same time, neither would have known of the other's creation due to poor transatlantic communication.^[7

]

Chocolate Day

Chocolate Day is the third day of the Valentine’s week which is celebrated worldwide by the people of age group, especially by the youths, couples and friends, with great passion and joy every year on 9th of February. Chocolate Day is everyone’s favorite day as everyone likes to get and gift the bunch of chocolates to their loved ones, friends, valentines and etc. Mostly it is celebrated by the youths of the country by gifting chocolates to each other.

How Chocolate Day is Celebrated

Chocolate day celebration every year brings a favorite flavor of the each one in their life so, everyone celebrate it very peacefully and heartily. It is the western culture celebration which brings a revolution of real love through the chocolate love among the mass people all through the world. At this special day everyone become indulge in buying bunch of chocolates from the local candy stores or bakeries to gift to their most loved ones. Chocolate Day celebration gives everyone a reasonable reason to gift and consume nice and tasty chocolates.

Eating dark chocolates twice or thrice a week has their own health benefits as well so, this special day has become involved in contributing towards the health benefits. Chocolates are the powerhouse of antioxidants which helps in neutralizing the free radicals come out of the metabolism of fat, thus involves in preventing from the ageing and age related chronic diseases. Gifting chocolates at any occasion to the loved ones and friends removes all the tensions, sorrows, misunderstandings as well as brings them together to celebrate it together by enhancing the sweetness of relationship.

It is given by the couple to express their deep love and affection towards their loved ones or valentines. It is given by the youths to their girl friends to enhance the level of friendship or propose for love. It is given by anyone to anybody to show the love and care to each other.

Credit: DjMaza

Propose Day

Propose day is the second day of the Valentine’s week which is celebrated with great enthusiasm every year on 8th of February by the youths, couples as well as other interested people of any age group. It is being celebrated for years in the western culture however; currently it has been started celebrating in the modernized way in almost every regions of the country.

How Propose Day is Celebrated

Youths and other age group people celebrate this special day in their own way to get full enjoy of it. Youths propose to their valentines at this day in excellent way to impress their loved ones. They propose their valentines to express their love and affection as well as to be their valentines forever. Someone propose it by sitting half on their knees with bunch of red roses in hand. Someone propose it by going to some popular places in different ways. Someone send a red rose bucket with greeting card, written love proposal messages and warm wishes, to the home of their valentine early in the morning. At this special day, all the mobile networks and postal services become busy as everybody send messages and gifts to their loved ones.