Valentine’s Day
情人節
Love’s enemies
愛的敵人
Unlikely allies unite against a holiday
毫不相干的地區成為了盟友，團結一致反對情人節
Feb 15th 2014 | From the print edition of The Economist
譯者：wendy220
WHAT do Russia’s Belgorod province and some schools in Florida and Connecticut have in common? They are unlikely recruits to the war on Valentine’s Day. In 2011 the governor of Belgorod banned celebration of the holiday in educational and cultural institutions on the ground that it was inimical to Russian spirituality and morality. Last year two schools in Orange County, Florida, forbade Valentine’s gift-giving, citing such reasons as the need to 「maintain instructional focus」 and 「avoid distraction」. And this year a school in Connecticut wrote to parents to say it would be replacing sweets and parties on February 14th with healthy snacks and academic activities.
俄羅斯的別爾哥羅德州（Belgorod province）和美國佛羅裡達（Florida）及康乃狄克州（Connecticut）的幾所學校有什麼共同點？這些毫不相干的地區都是對情人節宣戰的士兵。2011年別爾哥羅德州長下令禁止在教育機構和文化機構慶祝情人節，認為情人節有損俄羅斯人民的情操和品德。去年佛羅裡達橙縣（Orange County）的兩所學校禁止學生在情人節互送禮品，給出的理由是學校需要「保證教育為重」，「防止學生分心」。今年康乃狄克的一所學校又致信家長，稱2月14日情人節之際將以健康食品和學術活動取代糖果和聚會。
This puts them all on the same side as many Muslim countries that have banned the celebration of Valentine’s Day, among them Iran, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. Saudi Arabia has gone so far as to ban all things red from flowers and gift shops on the day—with little effect other than to create a black market for red roses. Tursunbai Bakir uulu, a member of Kyrgyzstan’s parliament, recently urged his fellow legislators to adopt a ban, too, dubbing Valentine’s Day a 「holiday from the devil」.
許多穆斯林國家如伊朗、馬來西亞、沙烏地阿拉伯、烏茲別克斯坦等都禁止慶祝情人節，上述地區也就和這些國家站到了同一邊。沙烏地阿拉伯甚至在情人節禁止一切紅色的東西，從花朵到禮物店無一例外。不過禁令毫無作用，反而促生了玫瑰花黑市。吉爾吉斯斯坦議員Tursunbai Bakir uulu最近也催促立法部門頒髮禁令，把情人節叫做「惡魔的節日」。
Originally a Christian feast associated with several martyrs called Valentine, February 14th soon entered folklore as the day when birds chose their mates. In 1400 Charles VI of France picked the date to propose a 「High Court of Love」, dedicated to matters of the heart. The passing of love notes became fashionable in England in the 1700s, and in 1797 「The Young Man’s Valentine Writer」 was published, formalising a long tradition of telling men how to woo. In 1913 Hallmark produced their first commercial Valentine’s card. In the 1980s the diamond industry followed florists and chocolatiers, who had already marketed Valentine’s Day as a moment to give (or expect) a romantic gift.
2月14日原是基督教節日，與名叫瓦倫丁（Valentine）的烈士有關；不久後出現在民俗故事中，被認為是鳥兒擇偶的日子。1400年，法國國王查爾斯六世在這一天提議成立「愛情最高法院」專門處理愛情糾紛。17世紀情書在英國很流行，1797年《男生的情人節寫作》（The Young Man’s Valentine Writer）問世，教男生追求女生的悠久傳統也從此形成了。1913年賀曼（Hallmark）公司生產了第一張情人節賀卡。花商和巧克力商早把情人節包裝成了送禮和收禮的節日，上世紀80年代鑽石行業也緊隨其後。
What bothers some of Valentine’s Day’s enemies is its Christian, or Western, origins. For others the problem is the incitement to commerciality, lewdness or even unhealthy eating. But their battle is doomed to failure. Valentine’s Day has a conveniently unspecific origin myth. It adds cheer to the post-Christmas slump. It provides an opportunity to give and get, and, for businesses, to profit. Though hardly a platonic holiday, it is the Platonic ideal of one.
反對者們介意的是情人節的基督教起源或者說西方起源，還有一些認為問題在於情人節推動了商業化、色情和垃圾食品。他們註定會失敗。情人節的巨大優勢就在於其眾說紛紜的起源。這些故事既有利於改善聖誕過後人們的低潮情緒，提供了一個送禮收禮的機會，帶來了商業利潤。情人節雖然算不上一個柏拉圖式的節日，卻是一個柏拉圖式的理想。
From the print edition: International