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Valentine's Day
A day when most of loving couples share their happiness in various ways, by offering flowers, chocolates, teddy bears etc.
All these acts of love are really adorable but let's have a look deep inside the tradition of Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. Originating as a Western Christian Feast Day honoring one or two early saints named Valentinus, Valentine's Day is recognized as a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and romantic love in many regions around the world, although it is not a public holiday in any country.
The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly 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). 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.
Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred in 269 and was added to the calendar of saints by Pope Galesius in 496 and was buried on the Via Flaminia.
While the European folk traditions connected with Saint Valentine and St. Valentine's Day have become marginalized by the modern Anglo-American customs connecting the day with romantic love, there are some remaining associations connecting the saint with the advent of spring.
While the custom of sending cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts originated in the UK, Valentine's Day still remains connected with various regional customs in England. In Norfolk, a character called 'Jack' Valentine knocks on the rear door of houses leaving sweets and presents for children. Although he was leaving treats, many children were scared of this mystical person.
The earliest description of February 14 as an annual celebration of love appears in the Charter of the Court of Love. The charter, allegedly issued by Charles VI of France at Mantes-la-Jolie in 1400, describes lavish festivities to be attended by several members of the royal court, including a feast, amorous song and poetry competitions, jousting and dancing. Amid these festivities, the attending ladies would hear and rule on disputes from lovers. No other record of the court exists, and none of those named in the charter were present at Mantes except Charles's queen, Isabeau oof Bavaria, who may well have imagined it all while waiting out a plague.
In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man's Valentine Writer, which contained scores of suggested sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose his own. Printers had already begun producing a limited number of cards with verses and sketches, called "mechanical valentines." Paper Valentines became so popular in England in the early 19th century that they were assembled in factories. Fancy Valentines were made with real lace and ribbons, with paper lace introduced in the mid-19th century.In 1835, 60,000 Valentine cards were sent by post in Britain, despite postage being expensive.
Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have given way to mass-produced greeting cards. In the UK, just under half of the population spend money on their Valentines, and around £1.9 billion was spent in 2015 on cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts. The mid-19th century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the U.S. to follow.
Valentine's Day customs developed in early modern England and spread throughout the English-speaking world in the 19th century. In the later 20th and early 21st centuries, these customs spread to other countries, but their effect has been more limited than those of Halloween, or than aspects of Christmas.
Source: Wikipedia
While this specific day is celebrated almost by every couple,who want to honor their love, I want to mention that it is of great importance to show your feelings each and every day of the year and give your beloved one a gift not due to of the day but because you have tender feelings for them.
I feel really proud of having the chance to be next to the most romantic day of my couples, their wedding.
It fulfills me with:
Completely optimism
True love
Genuine happiness
Being in between of so much passion and love, inspiring us to have better results as professional wedding photographer.
So keep spreading LOVE !
As we promised, this is another sweet and tasteful post to inform you about the sweetest treats for your wedding.
Get ready to check out our wonderful traditional treats,and why not you may try them out as well.
Honey and Walnuts, from Crete island:
According to the tradition Honey&Walnuts was given all around Crete from the couple's parents to the couple after wedding.
Honey symbolizes the "sweetness and love", which lead them to marriage.
On the other hand,Walnut symbolized the connection between the families and the couple, as it can break in four pieces (bride,groom and their families).
So in order to wish the couple to have a wonderful life they offered them Honey&Walnuts.
Kserotigana,from Crete and Amorgos islands:
This treat is always offered in Cretan weddings, it is mainly made by honey, nuts , Raki (Cretan traditional alcoholic drinking) and cinnamon.
This marvellous combination is that tasteful that Cretans can't totally wait to taste it. So it is also offered in fests and big events!
Correspondingly, in Amorgos people offer Kserotigana at Christmas, traditional fests, weddings and Baptisms.
It symbolizes each and every happy moment of their lifes,to locals.
There is also an exclusive day " Fest of Kserotigano " , where people can watch out how it is made as well as enjoy traditional dances.
Sugared Almosts (Bon bon) from Mylos:
It is widely known that Bon bon have been offered in weddings for many years.
But what is so special at Mylos' ones?
It is made with love, traditional mood and have some really special ingredients!
White pumkin,
Honey,
Lemon Juice,
Cinnamon
is a combination that really makes a difference comparing to the "usual" recipe.
Daxtyla (=Fingers) , from Cyprus isle:
Such a tasteful treat surrounded by syrup.
It's named because of their long shape which reminding Fingers.
Being an authentic treat of Cyprus is not the only advantage it is also really tasteful without being too sweet.
A treat for all likings!
Although this post cannot be fulifilled with each and every wedding tradition of Greeks, I hope from the bottom of my heart that you enjoyed these posts and they really inspired and motivated you to try out these greek traditional tastes!
Keep it sweet till our next post !!!
Greece may be small but it has such history and tradition.
Let's add a taste of traditional sweets to your wedding too,with marvelous ideas for either your wedding cakes or some swees to offer to your wedding guests as a tradional treat.
All around Greece there are such a great variety of traditional treats that we will highly recommend you to try out and share with your beloved ones.
To begin with...
Loukoumas,from Syros isle:
A treat that is said to be really tasteful due to Syros natural water,which is used to be made of.It is usually given to weddings or fests as a treat and it
-of course- is tasted by each and every tourist visiting the isle.
Amugdalota,from Andros isle:
Andros is not the only isle that is famous of Amugdalota but it is the most famous due to the fact that they use as main ingredient, almonds.
Revani, from Veroia:
The sweets made of syrup are said to be to the top list of Greek's tast,so does Revani.
This tasteful desire is really both liked by the whole Greece and the tourist visiting,who get amazed by it's taste.
Melopita(Honeypie),from Sifnos isle:
The Sifnos isle has a great variety of traditional recipes, one of the best is Melopita as locals believe.
It is a pie made of Myzuthra(greek sweet cheese) and honey.
In the isle it is mainly made in Easter but you can find it in each and every period of the year.
Sweets similar to Melopita can be found in Mykonos and Ios islands.
Carpouzopita(Watermelon pie),from Mylos isle:
In the isle, they use the watermelon as a summer fruit and it's natural sweet taste to create a sweet,Carpouzopita.
It may be Mylos' sweet but it can also be found in the whole Greece, for instance in Messinia the same treat is called Carpouzaleuria
and in Folegandros isle it is called Carpouzenia
And last but -surely- not least,
Pasteli,from Kalamata:
Pasteli is one of te only sweets that seems to be existed from Ancient Greece till today,due to the fact that it is mentioned really often in Greek and Byzantine texts.
In Greece you can find it in each and every place (supermarkets,mini-markets,even in biological product stores), but the place where it is said to be the most tasteful is Kalamata.
If you are not sure what kind of Pasteli to choose,we highly recommend you the once that is made of honey and is sugarfree.
There's no question about it, after the engagement you will be planning and purchasing for your wedding. During this process, staying organized is crucial and you can easily do this with PayPal, your new wedding planning best friend. It's not something "new", to be honest. Perhaps you 've already used Paypal for many other transactions. So, why not do the same with your wedding?
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In a Wedding each and every part has to be absolutely organized and harmonious.
A really unique and irremovable part of it,which surely will be noticed by both the wedding guests and especially from the couple,is the wife's ring!
Important as it is,you have to choose it really mindful and attentive so to pick the one that gives prominence to your quality of person
as well as fulfill the sense of style of yours.
The colours greatly effects the attitude and the senses:
As for white: It expresses the purity of heart and the unlimited loyalty.
Gold: The unbreakable power of Sun, fighting against the lack of harmony and negativity.
Silver: Known for it curative capability, weakening everything affecting the couple negatively.
Pink: Symbol of puelirity,femininity,the innocence and -last but not least- the fondness.
That's the main reason we are suggesting some vendors who can fill all your requirements with their pieces of art,
which we strongly believe that are conscientiously designed.
Speaking of Wedding Rings,it is nearly impossible to skip the American Brand of Jewerly:
Wedding is related to the couple, and the couple surely deserves to have the most incredible fairytale Wedding,
they have to be sure to choose the best parts of it, out of the bests!