Lovers, retailers embrace Valentine's Day

The chocolates have all been boxed and shipped, along with the cut flowers, greeting cards and other tokens of affection that convention says we should bestow on our beloveds on Valentine's Day."Feb. 14 is typically our strongest single sales day of the year," said Richard Van Doren, vice president at See's Candies, based in South San Francisco.
Throughout the year, women purchase most of the chocolates sold in the United States, but near Valentine's Day, purchase patterns shift.
"Frankly, a lot of shopping is last-minute purchases by men," said Mona Maher, a vice president at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. in San Leandro. "It's ideal when people are looking to impress and not mess up."
How the feast of St. Valentine became the day to demonstrate ardor is shrouded in mystery.
Some lore traces the tradition to an ancient Roman fertility rite and suggests that the day honors a priest who was martyred on Feb. 14, A.D. 269, for performing marriages in defiance of an imperial edict.
But in 1969, the Catholic Church decided that St. Valentine might not be a historical character and downplayed his festival.
Yet by then the aura of Eros had long since attached itself to St. Valentine, at least in the English tradition.
Geoffrey Chaucer makes a reference to his feast day in the "Parliament of Fowls," a 14th century poem that romanticizes how lovebirds find their mates.
By 1477, the link between romance and Valentine's Day had found its way into everyday English life, as evidenced by a letter written that year and held in the British Library.
In that love note, Englishwoman Margery Brews calls fiance John Paston "my right well-beloved Valentine," and tells him that she and her mother were both trying to persuade her father to increase her dowry whilst entreating him to marry her anyway "if you love me as I trust verily that you do."
For the record, historians think the couple wed and had two children, while the practice of exchanging handwritten love notes around St. Valentine's Day seems to have become a custom that English colonists spread to the future United States.
There, in the late 1840s, artist and businesswoman Esther Howland of Massachusetts began printing and selling ornate Valentine's cards, earning herself the title of the "mother of Valentine's Day."
By the 1920s, the practice of exchanging Valentines had infiltrated schools, fixing the practice into the American culture and setting the stage for the commercial event we know today.
According to the Greeting Card Association, 190 million Valentines are exchanged each year in the United States. The association says the holiday is also celebrated in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, France, Denmark and Italy.

Men spend much more

A National Retail Federation survey suggests that the average American man will spend $135.35 on Valentine's Day, while the average woman will shell out $72.28, to create a $14.1 billion holiday.
Robin Lakoff, a professor of linguistics at UC Berkeley, thinks it may be time to adjust that spending ratio.
"In this day and age, women are doing better economically, so maybe it should be time for them to be the wooer," she quipped.

Be patient, singles

Lovers who do exchange Valentine's gifts should not overspend, cautioned Hillary Mendelsohn, a shopping expert with the online service PayPal.

"It's a big red flag these days," she said, adding that men and women alike want financially prudent mates.
Matchmaker Carole Shattil of CheckMates Inc. in San Francisco said Valentine's Day often prompts angst among singles. Her advice: Be patient, and be certain that romance is waiting to be found.
"Love yourself," she said. "Give out the energy that there is someone else out there who also doesn't have someone rather than being in panic mode."
Kevin Westlye, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, said Valentine's Day fills the tables, so reservations are advised. He suggested that anyone planning to pop the question over dinner talk should consult servers and managers in advance to make sure the moment is magical.

Valentine’s Day 2010 – A Day Dedicated To Love

Love is a powerful and universal emotion associated with a range of emotions revolving around affection, attraction, and attachment. February 14th, every year is a day devoted to the celebration of love in all its forms - be it romantic, filial, platonic, or friendly and is famously called Valentine’s Day all over the world.

Though Valentine’s Day celebration has evolved over the years, taking on a different color, flavor and fervor, yet what is still sacrosanct is the overpowering emotion of love behind the day. It is a day when promises of love are made or renewed amid the backdrop of fun and frolic. The symbol of love is written on the wall for all to see - the outline of a heart with a picture of Cupid engraved on it.

The word ‘Valentine’ is synonymous with love. Yet, how many of us actually know the history of this day?
History of St.Valentine is as mysterious as the famous emotion associated with the day. Legend has it, that St.Valentine was a priest in Rome during the third century. It is believed that Emperor Claudius II forbade young men to marry during this time, as he felt that single men made dedicated soldiers. It is believed that Valentine saw gross injustice with such a move, and began to perform clandestine marriages. This enraged Claudius and Valentine was sentenced to death. 

Other stories about the history of Valentine’s Day suggest that Valentine may have been put to death while assisting Christians escape from Roman prisons. Another popular legend has it that during Valentine’s days in prison, he had sent a greeting to a young girl, thought to be the jailor’s daughter, who offered him companionship during the tough times. The famous expression, ‘From your Valentine,' may have begun in the letter written by Valentine himself to this young girl.

Love – In all Relationships
It is not just a day of romance but an opportune time to raise a toast to love in all its forms -that is how Valentine's Day has evolved over the years. On this day, tokens of love – gifts, flowers and cards  are exchanged between lovers, spouses, siblings , parents and children,  friends and just about anybody as an expression of love and affection in the relationship.

The Business of Valentine's Day
Along with Cupid who works overtime during Valentine’s Day, there are others who wait for this time in the year to turn this ‘love’ly occasion into a commercial one. Card makers, chocolate manufacturers, florists and  textile brands kickstart into action to make it one of the most profitable times during the year. Shops are seen displaying their wares aand publicity starts almost a month in advance, to rake in the moolah in the name of love.

Hotels and restaurants come out with attractive packages to get lovers to cough up for a magical evening. Catchy teasers often confuse the love struck youngsters, who fall completely for the brilliantly worded advertisements. While it is a time of brisk business and big bucks for some, for the heady rest, it is a time of gifts and gaiety galore.

Display of Love – Pleasure or Pressure?
Nowadays, shopping for Valentine’s Day is a big occasion. In fact, as the day is approaching, some lovers experience Valentine’s Day pressure – as if the heat is on to buy the best to impress their sweethearts. Many of them experience anxiety and stress as the day approaches, considering the ensuing comparisons and jealousy about Valentine gifts and celebrations. Peer pressure and ‘who is doing what’ appears to take precedence over genuine feelings. The stress of Valentine’s Day is all the more palpable during these present times of recession and shoe string budgets. In a materialistic world, where love is perhaps measured in terms of material gifts, will Valentines actually understand if their lover didn’t demonstrate love in a befitting or rather stereotype manner? Whoever said, Love also means understanding, scored a perfect 10!   Some simply heave a sigh of relief once the day is over and everything turns normal. Isn’t it time the medical parlance adds a new medical condition – Valentine’s Day Syndrome – and remedy for its associated anxiety and stress?        

No matter what, this is a time to love truly. Pure love is the eternal truth in this transient world. It’s a great blessing to love and to be loved and let’s cherish the true spirit of love on Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day may come and go every year, but only love goes on forever!

Feature: Berlin film festival to start with spotlight on Chinese movie

BERLIN, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 60th Berlin Film Festival is set to kick off Thursday with a special opening spotlight on Chinese cinema.
Chinese director Wang Quan'an will lead the opening ceremony with a special screening of his new film "Apart Together."
"Apart Together" is a story about "a reunion of a family that separated years ago," festival director Dieter Kosslick told Xinhua. Because 2010 is the 20th anniversary of Germany's reunification, he said, the film is "very symbolic to us, and we really like it."
Wang won the highest accolade at the Berlin Film Festival, the Golden Bear, in 2007 with his movie "Tuya's Marriage".
This year a total of 400 films will be presented throughout the festival. Two of the 10 Chinese language films in the festival will vie for the anniversary Golden Bear on Feb. 21, the last day of the festival.
This year's big Jubilee festivities will be hosted by Kosslick and German director Werner Herzog, the jury festival president.
Another well-known Chinese director, Zhang Yimou, will compete again in the festival with his new film "Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop."
Zhang won the first Golden Bear in 1988 for Chinese filmmakers with his directoral debut, "Red Sorghum." The classic film will be screened during the festival's retrospective series "Play It Again."
"The Ghost Writer," a new political thriller from controversial Oscar winning director Roman Polanski, will also premiere at the festival.
"The Ghost Writer," based on the novel by Robert Harris, tells the story of a ghostwriter who discovered a number of political secrets while writing the personal memoirs of a former British prime minister.
The film was expected to grab public interest not only due to its story, but also because Polanski is currently under house arrest in Switzerland, where he awaits possible extradition to the U.S., which he fled in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio team up again to tell the tale of "Shutter Island" about a U.S. marshal, played by DiCaprio, who is sent to an isolated island to re-capture a criminally insane murderess only to question his own sanity.
The Berlin Film festival, started in 1951, will also take a look back at the filmmaking history of the past six decades.
A premiere screening of the restored orginal version of Fritz Lang's 1927 silent sci-fi classic, "Metropolis," will be held Feb. 12 as a salute to great masters.