Color's Diary: 2.2.2010

It's Tuesday....2nd February.

February..a month for celebration because we are going to celebrate TWO special events...

Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day...a special day especially for those who are couples... Have you ever thought why we celebrate it?? The history??

Well, I'm curious...so I've do some research. (Ping Fen, you should be studying..not searching info on this!! )

Here's what I've found out...

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Interesting...=)

flowers...especially roses are a must in Valentine's Day

hearts~~

Chocolates <3

Basically, these are the things related with Valentine's Day =)

The second BIG celebration that all of us going to celebrate is CHINESE NEW YEAR!! 'XING NIAN KUAI LE' =)

Here's the history on how CNY started....

According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nien (Chinese: 年; pinyin: nián). Nien would come on the first day of New Year to devour livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nien ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One time, people saw that the Nien was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nien was afraid of the colour red. Hence, every time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nien. From then on, Nien never came to the village again. The Nien was eventually captured by hong jun lao zu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nien became hong jun lao zu's mount.

Chinese New Year...hmm...a celebration where we'll celebrate it grandly in Malaysia. With the sounds of firecrackers especially =)