Проект "The Meaning of St. Valentine's Day and St. Peter and Fevronia's Day"
творческая работа учащихся по английскому языку (7 класс)

Municipal scientifical and practical conference “Planet of Discoveries”

Section “Young researcher”

The Meaning of St. Valentine's Day and St. Peter and Fevronia's Day

Research work

Authors: Rushana Mukhammadieva

Elizaveta Ingovatova,

 the students of 7 E form

School № 12

Supervisor: Bakumenko V.N.,

the teacher of English,

School № 12

                                                  Tambov

                                                     2019

Contents:

Introduction……...…………………………………………………………….   3

Chapter 1. The Valentine's Day………...……………………………………..  4

1.1. History of the holiday.…………………………..………………………    4

1.2. Holiday symbols.………………………………………………….………  6

1.3. Tradition of celebration………………………………………….………    7

Chapter 2. The St. Peter and Fevronia's Day…………………………………  8

2.1. History of the holiday …………………………………………………….  8

2.2. Holiday symbols.…………………………………………………………   9

2.3. Tradition of celebration………………………………………….……….   9

Chapter 3. Comparative characteristics………. ……………………………… 11

Chapter 4. Research results …………………………………………………    12

3.1. Questioning ……………………………………………………………….  12

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………   13

List of information sources ……………………………………………………. 14

Supplement…………………………………………………………………….  15

Introduction

 Holidays are an integral part of every person’s life. It is the holidays that include the unifying system of spiritual values.

 One of the most common holidays in the modern world is St. Valentine's Day, which is celebrated in many countries of the world. Russia is not an exception. However, we should not forget that Valentine's Day came  from the UK and it is initially included the traditions and customs characteristic of the British culture. Is there such a holiday in Russia? We found out that in our culture there is a Day of family, love and fidelity, or, as it is called in another way, Saints Peter and Fevronia`s Day.

 Both of these holidays are dedicated to the feeling of love. However, the question is why the celebration of Valentine's Day is so widespread in Russia, and the primordial Russian holiday is given less attention, moreover, many people do not know about its existence at all?

The problem is interesting because it can help us to learn more about similarities and differences of cultural values and customs based on the particular example of two countries. The relevance of this work lies in the fact that it raises the problem of the depreciation of the Russian holiday and the widespread dissemination of the English holiday throughout the world.

      The Purpose of the study is to find out the origin of these holidays and compare them.

     Objectives:

1. Find out the history of the origin, symbols and traditions of   St. Peter and Fevronia's Day

2. Find out the history of the origin, symbols and traditions of  St. Valentine's Day.

3. Find similarities and differences.

4. Conduct a survey and analyse the results in comparison.

5. Make a conclusion, based on the information received.

   Methods: studying of various literature and Internet sources, survey, data analysis, generalization of the found material and comparison.  In the course of our research, we are going to learn the history, legends and traditions of these holidays.

   The subject of the study is the culture of Russia and Great Britain. 

    The Object of the study is St. Peter and Fevronia's Day and Valentine's Day.

    Hypothesis: We think that these holidays have a lot in common. However, St. Peter and Fevronia's Day is less advertised, consequently less popular and celebrated by few people than St. Valentine's day.

Chapter 1. Valentine's Day

 February 14, the whole Christian world celebrates Valentine's Day - the patron saint of all lovers. This is the most romantic holiday, when everyone declares love to each other and gives cute gifts and valentines to their beloved.

1.1. History of the holiday.

 According to one legend, the roots of Valentine's Day go back to pagan times. Many believe that the so-called Lupercalia, the festival of abundance and eroticism, which was held in ancient Rome in honor of the patron god of the flocks Faunus (Luperc) and the goddess of "febrile" love Juno Februata on February 15, was the "predecessor" of this holiday.

 Young girls wrote love notes to guys and put them in a special bowl for the lot. The man who took out this note had to take care of the one who wrote it. It is interesting that on this day, men quilted women on the street with lashes, which they made from the skin of a sacrificial goat. It was believed that this should have contributed to the greater fertility of women, so they with devotion were substituted for severe blows.

 In 494 A.D. Pope Gelasius I “moved” the celebration of Lupercalia from February 15 to 14. Thus, it coincided with the day of St. Valentine's Day. However, soon the celebration of Lupercalia came to naught.

 In ancient Greece, this holiday was called Panurgy - ritual games in honor of the god Pan (in the Roman tradition - Faun) - the patron saint of herds, forests, fields and their fertility. Pan is a merry fellow, plays the flute perfectly and always pursues nymphs with his love. All of the above can be considered a pagan contribution to the tradition of Valentine's Day.

 According to some sources, Valentine's Day was once called the “Bird's Wedding”. Previously, it was believed that birds form mating pairs in the second week of the second month of the year.

 According to the first legend, Valentin was a military doctor and a priest. He served with the then emperor Claudius II. The emperor was very imperious, cruel, and such a feeling as “love” was alien to him. And once Claudius, thinking about how to increase the effectiveness and power of his large army, thought that a legionnaire who does not have a wife and children, is not burdened by his family, will fight better than one who has a family. And enlightened by this "brilliant" idea, the emperor issued a decree that forbade legionnaires to marry and start a family. Valentine knew about this and was very sympathetic to the soldiers and their lovers. Therefore, he decided that he would secretly marry couples, despite the emperor's ban. Soon they found out about this and reported to Claudius. An angry tyrant ordered the execution of the priest. Awaiting execution, Valentine was thrown into prison, where he met Julia, the beautiful daughter of a prison warden. Young people fell in love, but the sentence of the emperor did not allow them to be together. Before the execution, Valentine sent Julia a note in the shape of a heart with a declaration of love. So the first valentine in history appeared, which became a symbol of the holiday. Valentine's execution took place on February 14, 269.              This is the first story of the origin of Valentine's Day.

 The second legend says that Valentine secretly adopted Christianity and converted his subjects and servants to the new faith. As in the first legend, he married couples in love. But once the emperor was informed of him, and when he crowned the next couple, all three were taken into custody and thrown into prison. Valentine, due to his high status in society, could have avoided execution. The lovers were doomed. Freed Valentine wanted to somehow console them and wrote them a letter that had the shape of a heart. The blind girl was supposed to transmit the letter, but, to everyone's surprise, the priest himself came to prison. He persuaded the guards to let the young spouses go and take him in return. He exchanged his life for the lives of two of his subjects. Before going to the scaffold, Valentine handed his very last letter to the same blind girl. Taking this letter, the girl received her sight. This is another story of the origin of the holiday of February 14th.

 According to another source, the lovers, whom Valentine married, were of different faiths. It was forbidden to marry such, but he disobeyed this ban and was executed.

 Thus, it turns out that the image of St. Valentine as the patron saint of lovers, as well as the many legends associated with him, we owe to the Middle Ages and their romantic literature, and not to the circumstances of the life of these martyrs who died at the dawn of Christianity.

 Many years later, Valentine was counted among the saints and the day of remembrance of this saint falls on February 14th.

1.2. Holiday symbols

Lovers from all over the world want to give their beloved a present for Valentine's Day and demonstrate their love.

The common symbols of Valentine's Day in this era are cupids, hearts, roses, teddy bears and words of adoration. Children exchange valentines decorated with up-to-date comics and cartoon icons. Adults continue this tradition of distributing cards, making this day after Christmas the second largest card sending holiday of the year.

Cupids with bows and arrows represent Roman mythology. Cupid was the son of Venus, the goddess of love.

In 1797, a British publisher released Valentine's Writer for a Young Man, which contained many of the sentimental poems offered to a young lover who was unable to compose his own. Printers have already begun to issue a limited number of cards with verses and drafts, called "mechanical valentines." Paper valentines became so popular in England at the beginning of the 19th century that they were collected in factories. Fancy valentines were made from real lace and ribbons, with paper lace introduced in the mid-19th century. In 1835, 60,000 valentines were mailed in the United Kingdom, despite the high shipping costs.

According to Charles Dickens, production increased and the Cupid Manufactory attracted more than 3,000 women.

The growing popularity of the Internet at the turn of the millennium creates new traditions. Millions of people use digital media every year to create and send Valentine's Day greeting messages, such as e-cards, love coupons, or printable postcards. Approximately 15 million electronic valentines were sent in 2010. Some consider Valentine's Day a distinctive sign because of its commercialization.

1.3. Tradition of celebration

Valentine's Day has been celebrated in Europe since the 13th century, in the United States since 1777, and in Russia more recently, since the 1990s. Today, Valentine's Day has gone far beyond a purely Catholic holiday and has become the most popular, most beloved among many nations.

The holiday of Valentine's Day, or Valentine's Day, in Europe, and in America, and in Russia is unofficial and purely secular, and not religious, as most people think. But, despite the fact that the holiday, Valentine's Day, is not marked in red on the calendar, most people in the world wrote it behind the scenes in official celebrations.

Celebrating or not celebrating Valentine's Day is an individual matter. Nevertheless, this is a good reason to talk about our feelings - unfortunately, we don’t often talk about it out loud. Although some believe that it is not necessary to wait for Valentine's Day to confess your love and give a gift, and even consider this holiday, to some extent, artificial.

And yet, St. Valentine's Day, despite its informality, is a favorite holiday among many nations, primarily because of the fact that in the modern world they talk too little about love. But one day a year they talk only about her, and that’s wonderful.

Many countries celebrate Valentine's Day, and it has already managed to acquire the traditions that this or that country has endowed it. But the essence is the same: love is always beautiful, it is always a holiday!

Chapter 2. St. Peter and Fevronia's Day

 The history of the feast of St. Peter and Fevronia tells of unshakable and irresistible love, endless fidelity, humility and meekness. During the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, princes were canonized. They became a vivid example of how to love, appreciate, forgive and what sacrifices you can make to your other half.

2.1. History of the holiday

The Day of St. Peter and Fevronia is the day of remembrance of the St. Peter and Fevronia, as well as Fevronia Nizinsky in the Russian Orthodox Church. Celebrated on June 25th.

The legend of Peter and Fevronia tells us that Prince Paul and his wife lived in Murom, who began to fly on werewolf snakes. The princess found out that she died at the hands of the younger brother of the prince - Peter. He kills him with a sword, but the dragon's blood causes him a serious illness - the prince's hands and face are covered with ulcers.

Peter ordered to take himself to the Ryazan land, famous for healers. He saw a girl - he is sitting on a loom, a hare is jumping in front of her. Fevronia impressed Prince Peter with his wisdom, solving the most difficult puzzles. She agrees to heal the prince, provided that he accepts her as his wife.

The exhausted prince agrees to everything. However, after the cure, the prince refuses to fulfill his promise, after which he again becomes covered with ulcers. Fevronia helped him again and became a princess. Gradually, the prince realizes that Fevronia is his only love.

However, disagreements arose among the boyars about Fevronia.

The death story of this couple is amazing: when he dies, Prince Peter sends his wife to say that she is ready to die with him. Fevronia, busy with embroidery, shows the needle at work, neatly folds it, lies down and wants with her husband ... They remained faithful to each other not only the grave, but also the afterlife.

It was that hour. About 300 years after death, in the 16th century, Peter and Fevronia were reckoned with the Russian Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Day of Saints Peter and Fevronia is not celebrated as romantic as the Catholics on February 14, Valentine's Day. In Orthodox traditions, it is not customary to make gifts in the shape of a heart or spend evenings by candlelight.

Orthodox on this day pray in cathedrals and churches. In prayer, young people ask for the consent of the family.

Prayer to the right prince Peter and Fevronia of Murom wonderworkers.

In Russia, until 1917, the festival in honor of Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom, personifying the Russian culture of conjugal love and fidelity and published in Russia by the patrons of family and marriage, was widely celebrated. On this day, it was customary to visit temples where young people in their prayers asked for love, and the elderly asked for the consent of the family. The day of Peter and Fevronia was considered happy for marriage.

The Day of St. Peter and Fevronia was officially recognized in Russia in 2008.

2.2. Holiday symbols

The symbol of the feast day of Peter and Fevronia is considered to be a daisy. Many will ask why this particular modest flower? Firstly, it should be noted that it is this snow-white flower with a yellow core in Russia that is considered a symbol of love. July 8, she took over the wife of former President Dmitry Medvedev. A simple, but so widespread flower in Russia, possessing attractive beauty, has become faith and love. Acquaintance with a chamomile «loves, does not love».

On this day, it is customary to portray close people. Embroidered do-it-yourself patterns are especially powerful.

This is the best gift for loved ones. Set aside all things and try to spend time with your loved one.

2.3. Tradition of celebration

 Russia is developing a new tradition designed to strengthen the ideals of family and marriage. Celebrating Family Day, love and fidelity has a spiritual, moral and educational purpose, is designed to make a significant contribution to improving the moral climate in society, solving problems related to the family crisis and the demographic crisis. Preservation of family values: love, fidelity, responsibility becomes one of the most important tasks of the whole Russian society.

 The establishment of the holiday “Day of family, love and fidelity” is intended to draw attention to the fact that the family as the main element of society has been and remains the guardian of spiritual and moral values, national culture and the historical continuity of generations, a factor of stability and development. Thanks to the family, the state grows stronger and develops, the welfare of the people grows.

 Family Day celebrations are proposed to be held annually on July 8th. This is a day of remembrance of the holy miracle workers, the noble and reverend spouses of the princes of Murom, Peter and Fevronia. Peter and Fevronia have long been revered in Russia as the guardians of family and marriage.

 The appearance of this holiday marks the beginning of a new state policy, the restoration of the health of the nation through the strengthening and revival of the family, and the promotion of moral, including spiritual, patriotic education and upbringing. Day of family, love and fidelity is a public, and in the long term - a public-state holiday, designed to become a massive, nationwide event.

Chapter 3. Comparative characteristics

     We have analyzed and studied literary and electronic sources and have come to the conclusion that despite the similarity of the themes of these holidays, they have a lot indifferent. We put these differences in the table.

                                         Chapter 4. Research results

                                                  3.1. Questioning

Survey on knowledge of holidays among people from different countries (Great Britain, Egypt, Czech Republic, Japan, Korea, Armenia, Sweden, Greece, Israel, Brazil, Ukraine, France, Germany, Kazakhstan) shows that Valentine`s Day is more popular in the world and in Russia too.

      Thus, we concluded that St. Valentine's Day, despite the fact that this holiday is not from our culture, is known and celebrated by more people than our native holiday Day of saints Peter and Fevronia. It can explained by the fact that the Russian holiday is younger and therefore fewer people know about it.

Conclusion

 In the course of our work, we learned about the history of origin and traditions of the holidays of Valentine's Day and the Day of St. Peter and Fevronia.

After a comparative analysis, we identified a number of differences between these holidays. Which have a similar theme, but originally belong to the cultures of different nations. The Day of Saints Peter and Fevronia has an Orthodox beginning, which means it is closely connected with religion and strict religious customs. While Valentine's Day has secular roots and secular traditions.

Also, the Day of Peter and Fevronia was officially recognized in Russia only in 2008. While Valentine's Day has existed for more than 8 centuries.

Based on the survey data among people from different countries, we found out that a large number of people know a lot about the Valentine's Day, and little about the Day of St. Peter and Fevronia. Therefore, our hypothesis is true.

However, gradually the native Russian holiday is becoming more popular. Monuments to Peter and Fevronia Muromsky are being built in different cities of Russia, including our town, Tambov. A lot of concert programs, various fairs, charity events, family parties and competitions are arranged. Based on this data, we can conclude that the Day of saints Peter and Fevronia can be a worthy alternative to the Catholic Valentine's Day.

                            List of Information Sources

1. Fedorova T. Valentine's Day: [Electronic resource]. 2003-2020. URL: https://www.pravmir.ru/den-svyatogo-valentina-imeniny-bez-imeninnika (Date of the application: 21.12.2019)

2. STVALENTINESDAY. St. Valentine's Day: [Electronic resource]. 2005-2020. URL: http://www.stvalentinesday.org/valentines-day-gifts-ideas.html (Date of the application: 28.12.2019)

3. All About Popular Issues. History of Valentine's Day: [Electronic resource]. 2002-2020. URL: https://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/history-of-valentines-day.htm (Date of the application: 02.01.2020)

4. Lyutova O. The love story of Peter and Fevronia. Day of Family, Love and Fidelity: [Electronic resource]. 2020. URL: https://www.liveinternet.ru/users/rosavetrov/post366586389/ (Date of the application: 03.01.2020)

5. Prayers.online. A brief history of the day of Peter and Fevronia: [Electronic resource]. 2017-2020. URL:  https://molitvy.online/prazdnik/den-petra-i-fevronii/ (Date of the application: 05.01.2020)

6. All the magic. The St. Peter and Fevronia's Day: holiday history, traditions and signs: [Electronic resource]. 2014-2020. URL: https://vsyamagik.ru/den-petra-i-fevronii-istoriya-prazdnika-i-tradicii/ (Date of the application: 06.01.2020)

7. Gorshunov D. Comparison of the holidays «The St. Peter and Fevronia's Day» and «Valentine's Day». [Electronic resource]. 2017-2020. URL: https://obuchonok.ru/node/2789 (Date of the application: 07.01.2020)

8. Wikipedia. Valentine's Day. [Electronic resource]. 2020. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day (Date of the application: 07.01.2020)

9. boobooka. Origin of Valentine's Day. [Electronic resource]. 2012-2020. URL: http://boobooka.com/14-fevralya/istoriya-vozniknoveniya-dnya-svyatogo-valentina-14-fevralya/ (Date of the application: 07.01.2020)

10.  День семьи, любви и верности. Справка // РИА Новости, 08.07.2014.

11. Зайцев Д. В., Бугаевская Л. А. Валентин // Православная энциклопедия, Т. 6 : Бондаренко — Варфоломей Эдесский / под ред. Патриарха Московского и всея Руси Алексия II. — М. : Православная энциклопедия, 2003. — 750 с. : ил. —ISBN 5-89572-010-2. - С. 522.

12. Юдина Н. А. Энциклопедия русских обычаев. — М.: Рипол Классик, 2000. — 510 с. — ISBN 5-9533-0500-1

Supplement

Questioning

1. The Day of St. Peter and Fevronia is celebrated in…

a) February             b) March              c) July

2. One of the symbols is…

a) The Saints Peter and Fevronia         b) Chamomile      

c) Fevronia

3. People usually say…

a) Happiness, love and fidelity!            b) I love you

c) Happy New Year!

4. People send to each other…

a) Valentines cards          b) Chamomile         c) Telegrammes

5. It's a... holiday

a) Romantic                     b) National              c) Religious

6. The tradition was born in…

a) Russia                          b) Ukraine              c) The USA

1. Valentine's Day is celebrated in…

a) January                  b) February                   c) March

2. One of the symbols is…

a) Santa Claus            b) Jack-o'-lantern          c) Cupid

3. On Valentine's Day people usually say…

a) I love you               b) Merry Christmas       c) Treat or Trick

4. People send…        

a) Christmas cards      b) Valentines                 c) Telegrammes

5. It's a... holiday

a) National                  b) Religious                   c) Romantic

6. Tradition was born in…

a) Italy                         b) Russia                        c) The USA