Valentine's Day Tradition

Valentine's Day , traditionally known as Saint Valentine's Day, is an annual celebration that takes place on February 14. It celebrates love and affection not only between lovers, but also between companions.

The history of Valentine's Day is surrounded by various fanciful legends. According to the Infoplease Encyclopedia, It has his roots in a ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia, which celebrated fertility every year on February 15. In the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day, establishing February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day.

According to tradition, Valentines's day is a special day on which lovers give expression to their love for each other by gifting flowers, offering candy and other sweets as well as sending greeting cards (aka "valentines").

Currently, Valentine's Day counts on particular symbols including the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the charming figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have been replaced to mass-produced greeting cards.

SOURCE: Wikipedia.org

Please, visit the following links for getting more information about the Valentine's Day:

Valentines's day (wikipedia.org)

Valentine's Day History (Text)

Valentine's Day History (Video)


By Orlando Ribeiro
02/10/2010

Below, beneath, under

Prepositions are really a difficult subject for students. Frequentley they face trouble to understand their meaning as well as their application. That is the case of the prepositions bellow, beneath and under.

Let's check some information and examples about them:

Below
1. under, beneath, underneath, lower than: The boat dipped below the surface of the water.
2. less than, under, lower than, smaller than, not as much as: Night temperatures can drop below 15 degrees Celsius.
3. subordinate to, under, subject to, inferior to, subservient to, lesser than: What is the title of the position below general manager in a restaurant?

Beneath
1. under, below, underneath, lower than: She found pleasure in sitting beneath the trees.
2. inferior to, below, secondary to, not good enough for, lower in status than, not as im

portant as: She decided he was beneath her.
3. unworthy of, unfitting for, unsuitable for, inappropriate for, unbefitting: Many find themselves having to take jobs far beneath them.

Under
1.
a. In a lower position or place than: There is a rug under a chair.
b. To or into a lower position or place than: She rolled the ball under the couch.
2. Beneath the surface of: under the ground: They swam under water.
3. Beneath the assumed surface or guise of: He traveled under a false name.

According to Thefrredictionary the preposition under offer more alternatives of use. We only posted three of them. So if you ned to know more, please visit the website. Anyway, there's nothing but practice to guide us in dominating the use of prepositions.

SOURCE: Thefreedictionary.com


By Orlando Ribeiro
02/10/2010

Dining or having dinner?

According to the online dictionary Thefreedictionary.com the verb to dine comes from the Old French term disner, contracted from Vulgar Latin disjējūnāre and its pronunciation is: dine [daɪn].
The referred verb presents three different applications:

1. (intr) to eat dinner: he didn't dine yesterday.

2. (intr; often foll by on, off, or upon) to make one's meal (of): the guests dined on roast beef.

3. (tr) Informal to entertain to dinner (esp in the phrase to wine and dine someone): He wines and dines Betty like a queen.

Special meanings:
Dine in:  eat at home - He dines in on wednesdays.
Dine out: eat at a restaurant or at somebody else's home - He dines out at the Carlton all the week.
As we just finished to discover, when someone is hungry he can solve the problem having dinner or dining.

By Orlando Ribeiro
02/1/2010

The First Goal

Everyone should consider wisdom as his first goal. Please read and reflect deeply on the following quotations, and see how useful for life wisdom is.

"There are many obstacles to overcome, but toil, grit and endurance will help you to overcome them all. Help yourself and others will help you." — William Boyce

"It's human nature to stretch, to go, to see, to understand. Exploration is not a choice, really; it's an imperative." — Michael Collins, Apollo 11's command module pilot

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination." — Tommy Lasorda

"It is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things" (Henry David Thoreau).

"In those homely sayings was couched the collective wisdom of generations" (Maya Angelou).