Interesting in South Korea....

Hello Everyone, I’ve found interesting facts about Valentine’s Day and other love celebration as the 14^th of every month marks a special occasion in South Korea. In South Korea, women give chocolate to the man they love on February 14 and in return, men will give non-chocolate candy to women on March 14 (White Day). On April 14 (Black Day), those who did not receive anything on Valentine’s Day or White Day go to a Chinese restaurant (in Korea) and gets together to eat a black noodles called ‘Jajangmyeon’ and ‘mourn’ their single life. Black Day is a Korean-version of "Single Awareness Day". Jajangmyeon is a wheat noodles with black soybean sauce. Check the photo below. Those are Jajangmyeon…

Do you know why they eat Jajangmyeon? The black colour sauce on the noodle is reflected to be opposite of red which is a symbol of love.

What do you think about Jajangmyeon??

Koreans also celebrate Pepero Day on November 11, when young couples give each other Pepero cookies. The date '11/11' is intended to resemble the long shape of the cookie. Below are how Pepero cookies look like. It seems yummy to me.

The 14th of every month marks a love-related day in Korea, although most of them are obscure. From January to December:

§  14 Jan: Candle Day,

§  14 Feb: Valentine's Day,

§  14 Mar: White Day,

§  14 Apr: Black Day,

§  14 May: Rose Day,

§  14 June: Kiss Day,

§  14 July: Silver Day,

§  14 Aug: Green Day,

§  14 Sept: Music Day,

§  14 Oct: Wine Day,

§  14 Nov: Movie Day, and

§  14 Dec: Hug Day

Saint Valentine

As a dedication of Valentine's Day, let me share the symbolic images of both Saint Valentine with you.

       

         Saint Valentine of Rome           Saint Valentine of Terni

It is sad to know that both saints were martyred and brutally beheaded for their faith and believes. Both were priests and said to be Bishops.

It's Valentine's Day again!!

Can you Feel or Smell Love in the air?

It’s originated Saint Valentine’s Day but commonly shortened as just Valentine’s Day; is a day we celebrate love and passion. Since Valentine’s Day falls in February, the month of February has always been associated as the month of love. When we’re in February, it’s very common to see red heart shape (love), cupid, love doves and not forgetting all those everlasting love songs. It reminds us how great love is! It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). That's why now it is very common to receive or give flowers, especially rose, a box of nice expensive chocolate, a Valentine's  card and have a romantic candlelit dinner on Valentine's Day.

As I’ve been searching for the connection, I seem to found nothing link between St. Valentine and romance. I instigate to wonder why we celebrate love on 14 February every year. There’s a legend that I found which I would like to share with all of you but there’s no concrete proof that support this legend to make it real. Somehow it is never bad to dedicate a day in a year to really celebrate love. Love, love, love…. Never doubt the power of love.

The history of Saint Valentine and February 14 were related to numerous Christian martyrs named Valentine. However the Valentines honoured on February 14 are Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni. Both were martyred on February 14 and buried on the Via Flaminia. The relics of Valentine of Rome can be found at Church of Saint Praxed in Rome and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland while the relics of Valentine of Terni can be found at Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni. According to the Catholic Encyclopaedia it also mentioned about the third Saint Valentine under the date of 14 February who was martyred in Africa with number of companions but nothing more were known about him.

Sadly, in the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feast day of Saint Valentine on February 14 was removed from the General Roman Calendar and relegated to particular (local or even national) calendars for the following reason: "Though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14." The feast day is still celebrated in Balzan (Malta) where relics of the saint are claimed to be found, and also throughout the world by Traditionalist Catholics who follow the older, pre-Second Vatican Council calendar.

This is the romantic legends that I want to share with all of you…

The Early Medieval acta of either Saint Valentine were expounded briefly in Legenda Aurea. According to that version, St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer.

Since Legenda Aurea still provided no connections whatsoever with sentimental love, appropriate lore has been embroidered in modern times to portray Valentine as a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to Roman Emperor Claudius II, allegedly ordering that young men remain single. The Emperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers. The priest Valentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men. (Oh! How romantic… Secret marriages) When Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine arrested and thrown in jail.

There is an additional modern embellishment provided by American Greetings to History.com, and widely repeated despite having no historical basis or whatsoever. On the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he would have written the first "valentine" card himself, addressed to a young girl variously identified as his beloved, as the jailer's daughter whom he had befriended and healed or both. It was a note that read "From your Valentine." (Hmm… I wonder how many times have you been sending a Valentine’s Card to your lover and ended it with From Your Valentine without knowing the legend??)

Whatever I’m writing here, I just want to share and I wish all of you to have a real nice time on Valentine’s Day. Although it doesn’t mean that you can only show your lover that you love him or her on Valentine’s Day, (cos you can say or show them your love every second of your time) it is so worth to have a day when all the lovers in this world share the same feelings and celebrate love. Knowing exactly the sacred and pure meaning of the phrase ‘I Love You with all my heart…’ Let us all celebrate love.

Simple Path to Wisdom

How can we acquire wisdom as we live our everyday lives? Through wisdom, we find a way to live our lives without trouble or discord. An age-old prayer goes like this: Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Here are some simple ways to smooth your path to wisdom as you journey through our Earthly plane:

1. Live in every moment, always. It admonished us as every moment we live is worth our notice and worth our effort to create success in each moment. Don’t waste the minutes. Shakespeare tells us, “in a moment there are many days.” Remember that our life is only made of days.

2. Become more capable of handling change. Become aware that change is a necessary part of personal growth. If you battle against change, or whine and pout when things don’t remain predictable, you will deprive yourself of food for the growth of your soul.

3. Educate your five senses. Learn why you have a sense of touch, taste, sight, smell, and hearing. Hone all of them to their highest levels of perception, and pay attention to what messages they give your mind and body. Use that input to teach yourself about your life, yourself, and your universe.

4. Keep your body,  spirit and mind healthy. Feed each well, care for and nurture each. Pay attention to how you feel every day. If something feels wrong, seek expert help. Learn to meditate, and do it, so that you can be inside your own psyche, every day.

5. Be a life-long learner. Treasure and take advantage of every single learning opportunity that comes your way. Seek out ways to feed your intelligence. Read as though it’s your job, and learn the wisdom that has come before you. Enrich your mind so that you are prepared to help others do the same.

6. Broaden your experience. Set aside fear, and try things you have yet to experience. Encourage yourself to reach out to people you might not see eye-to-eye with. Approach people with a heart full of joy, an open hand, and an open mind. Learn about diversity, and respect the way that diversity enhances our world.

7. Listen more than you speak. Train yourself to quiet your mind so that you can take in more than you put out in a conversation. Encourage others to communicate with you, and express your respect for their points-of-view.

8. Learn to give out more love than you expect to receive. When you learn this, you will never want for love. You will never have to plead for affection. You will seldom feel depressed, lonely, or left out. Learning to give love unconditionally is, perhaps, the single greatest way to wisdom.

9. Engage in noble deeds which will strongly affect your karma. Always believe in karma. When you give of yourself, you get back tenfold. When you open your life to giving, you will learn the lessons of the ages.

10. Learn to pray in whatever way makes you comfortable and brings you enlightenment. Find and bind yourself to whatever repetition of a god or goddess resonates within your spirit. Make communion with the higher power part of each in order to create gentle harmony within your spirit and open your heart to wisdom.

Wisdom is something we learn or attain as we travel through life, but we may pass right through our chance to see the world wisely if we aren’t careful. Open yourself, heart, body, mind, and spirit, to experiencing what life has to show you.