Tonight at International Open House, we discussed Valentine's Day, beginning with the question, "Ok, so who was this Valentine character, anyway?" We were provided with several different answers, none of which are particularly rooted in verifiable fact (that's the historian in me talking), but all of which make nice stories (although a bit gruesome). The only points upon which all of the stories agreed was that he was Roman, did something that made the Emperor mad, and lost his head as a result. From there, we moved onto the happier aspects of St. Valentine's Day.
We began by discussing Valentine's Day in Britain, and then discussed what it is like in the other countries represented (the US, South Korea, and China). In the Asian countries, Valentine's Day is a day when girls give guys cards, and there is a day in March (called White Day) when guys return the favor. In Britain and the US, things are much the same. When discussing Valentine's Day in the US, I broke out some conversation hearts, which were a big hit. In fact, they were duly eaten up!
Near the end, I was asked to talk through the wedding album that Amanda had left at the Watson's house at Global Gathering this morning. I was happy to do so, and discussed all the points in the book, including explaining who the "Maid of Horror" was. The "Maid of Horror" bit came from Mrs. Watson attempting to comment upon the "Maid of Honor" but mis-speaking, so that I had to explain the concept and clarify that the word in question was "Honor," not "Horror," for the benefits of our Asian colleagues.
In a few weeks at International Open House, it's my turn to talk about the US. Tune in in two weeks time to see how that goes!
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