185 Valentine’s Day 2 : “Roses are red, violets are blue, --- “ wrote: 060215, posted: 060225

For more info on Valentine's Day, see Letter 27
Valentine's Day Photos

Japanese F’s Qs:

“Hi, As Valentine's Day is fast approaching, I very often hear the following or something like.
’Roses are red, violets are blue, Sugar is sweet, and so are you*.’

Is this a kind of funny joke while people are thinking of Valentine's Day's poems for their sweethearts? Give me your thoughts on this when you get a chance.

Have a great weekend! And Happy Valentine's Day! “ 060210

American P’s View:

“Yes, this is a very famous saying. It is also been altered in many ways. Some of the alterations can be insults like: "Roses are red, violets are blue, Things in the toilet remind me of you." Others alterations are nice but I can't think of any right now.

The original is so old, that I doubt it is used much any more in actual poems to sweet hearts.” 060212

American L’s View:

“These are goofy sayings that are sometimes on Valentine cards. They might be on cards that kids give each other. People usually don't take them very seriously.

That reminds me: when I was a kid, we gave out Valentine cards in elementary school. I wouldn't be surprised if they now have sexual harassment policies preventing first graders from giving each other cards. But it was fun, and I remember that if there was a girl in class that I liked, I would choose my card for her carefully. I think the only rule we had was that you had to give cards to everyone, which was a good rule.” 060215

* Lots of sites: For example, How to Write a “Roses Are Red” Poem < http://www.poetryteachers.com/poetclass/lessons/rosesrred.html >

Local Event Examples related to Valentine’s Day, 2006:

1. “ As you know, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts* will have the show related to Cupid or something like that from this Sat. through August, 2006. The Home Page is saying that the show includes the very famous painting, "Cupid and Psyche" loaned from Louvre, Paris, during the show. I'll sure see this painting before it gets back to Paris.” One of the Explore America Info staff, 060210

* Cupid & Psyche Neoclassical Visions of Love - exhibition, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN < http://www.artsmia.org/ >

2. From Japanese B: “Hoping you had a wonderful Valentine's Day yesterday. I attended "Victorian Poetry Slam!" held at James J. Hill House on Summit Ave, St. Paul, last evening. Three actors in the Victorian era-costumes performed for one hour, and the performance was great; I admit I often had difficulty in understanding the old poems, though.” 060215

The Minnesota Historical Society presents "Victorian Poetry Slam!" < http://events.mnhs.org/calendar/results.cfm?CalDate=20060214&CFID=682095&CFTOKEN=59341146 >, James J. Hill House, St. Paul, MN, 060214, Valentine's Day < http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/jjhh/ >

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